Event overview
Critical Ways of Seeing: Visualising Knowledge in a Digital Age
21-22 March 2013, Goldsmiths Media & Communications Department
Workshop/Master Class with Dr Philippe Rekacewicz (Head Geographer & Cartographer, Le Monde Diplomatique) & Public Forum
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Workshop/Masterclass (21-22 March) led by Philippe Rekacewicz (Le Monde diplomatique, Paris)
Public Forum (22 March) with Patrick Meier, Philippe Rekacewicz, Wendy Kristiansen, Dan McQuillan, and Eyal Weizman
Convener: Marianne Franklin (Global Media & Transnational Communications Program) with Corey Schultz (Radical Media Forum), Media &Communications Department, Goldsmiths (University of London)
Venue: Media Research Building (MRB) and New Academic Building (NAB), Goldsmiths, New Cross, London SE14 6NW (map of area; map of campus)
Times: March 21, 10am – 4pm, 5.30-6.30 pm; March 22. 11am – 4pm; 5-8pm (Public Forum & Rooftop Reception)
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In critical media and communications research there has been a marked increase in interest in web-based ways of gathering and generating knowledge. These include digital tools that navigate and map the web itself. They also create various sorts of maps and other sorts of visualisations – infographics – to use in research, policy-making, and advocacy. These techniques make use of official databases but increasingly work with real-time forms of crowdsourcing to raise awareness about humanitarian crises, natural disasters, as well as mobilise people around a range of political and social issues. These developments have accompanied the digitalisation of cartography itself (such as Google Maps and Street View) as well as the rise of consumer goods that are digital devices that include the tracking, tagging, and collating of individual and accumulated user data (such as via mobile phones). These trends mean that individuals are being mapped in their everyday life and being rendered as data themselves in the visualisation of others.
All these techniques and the new ways of conveying what is going on in the world that they open up present exciting possibilities for doing research , ‘seeing’ and presenting our ideas. They have also provided important avenues for citizens to challenge businesses and governments about what they are doing with our data, and to what ends. Whilst a picture may be worth a thousand words, infographics, like maps and other images, also imply and convey more than one story. Humanitarian, environmental, and commercial uses of digital tracking, mapping, and crowdsourcing are not always compatible with each other, and they also raise challenging questions about freedom of expression, privacy, intellectual property rights, and research ethics based on informed consent. Moreover, the politics of ownership and control of our data and the data of others is becoming more urgent as large corporations and governments can accumulate this data and then grant or restrict access to it in non-accountable ways.
This two-day workshop brings a world-renowned exponent of conventional and radical cartography, Philippe Rekacewicz, to the department to guide and inspire students, either as part of their research inquiry or as a way to think through and present their research. The public forum that closes the workshop brings other experts together with Dr Rekacewicz to present and debate these issues based on their respective projects. The Workshop will begin with a presentation by Dr Reckacewicz that is open to all registered participants. In the Masterclass sessions that follow, selected students will bring their particular issues and interests to the table, and get help and guidance about the techniques of traditional and radical cartography, as a basis for experimenting with these new techniques in a critical and reflexive way.
The second day will include another open session with guests and the workshop will close with a Public Forum. Invited speakers include Patrick Meier, Philippe Rekacewicz, Wendy Kristiansen, Dan McQuillan, and Eyal Weizman.
Schedule
DAY 1: Thursday 21 March (MRB Screen 1)
9:30: Coffee and Welcome
10:30: Opening Session, New Cartographic Writing: From geo-descriptions to geo-engagement
11:30: Coffee break
11:45: A Rough Guide to Cartography for Absolute Beginners: Principles and Exercises
12:30-1:30 LUNCH BREAK
1:30: Continuation
2:45: Tea Break
3:00 – 4.30: Masterclass Session 1
DAY 2: Friday 22 March (MRB Screen 1)
11:00: Opening Session: Dismantling the Myth: Infographics as Digital Magic?
12:30 LUNCH BREAK
1:30: Continuation and Masterclass Session 2
2:45 Tea Break
3:00-4:00: Final Comments and Summing Up
BREAK
5:00-6.30: Public Forum (NAB LG01): Critical Ways of Seeing in Practice: Fact and Fiction, Dreams and Deeds, with Patrick Meier (iRevolution), Philippe Rekacewicz (Le Monde diplomatique), Wendy Kristiansen (Le Monde diplomatique English Edition), Dan McQuillan (Goldsmiths), Eyal Weizman (Goldsmiths). Moderator Marianne Franklin (Goldsmiths).
6:30-8:00: Rooftop Reception (NAB 302 and Rooftop)
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Mar 2013 | 10:00am - 6:30pm | |
| 22 Mar 2013 | 11:00am - 8:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
