Negotiating with the II && ! : reading codes and their symbolic structures of control
Name
1056961203-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
16.74 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
70bcbb33042455d03a1f8412916f661a
Author(s)
Cardoso Zylbersztajn, Pedro
Advisor(s)
Judith Barry.
Alternative Title
Reading codes and their symbolic structures of control
Date Issued
2018
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis investigates software as a textual and aesthetic object through research- based artistic practice and arts-based research. Its main particular interest is in how codes (computer codes, more specifically, but positioned in relation to other linguistic codes) exercise control. It engages Pierre Bourdieu's framework of language and symbolic power, Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model, and Wendy Chun's notion of programability, aiming to discuss how to read codes in ways that create possible semantic and pragmatic negotiations with their imperatives. This document draws a model of reading that accounts for the sociological distribution of authority contained in software. It accepts ambiguity in face of invisibility, examines what is the ontological proximity of the code with the performative effect it generates, and how shifts and manipulations of this relational axis may work to oppose or divert prescriptive command structures. The goal of the project is to reflect upon how art practice can provide different modes of reading codes that may prove themselves pertinent to a less passive engagement with this subtle layer of control of everyday life.
Description
Thesis: S.M. in Art, Culture and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2018.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 93-96).
Subjects
Architecture.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture
Terms of Use
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