S Feminist infrastructuring - collective decision-making (ST, Teil I/II; FraP, Teil II; K&G, Teil II; GEGE, Teil II) (080304-WiSe2026/27)

The seminar looks into recent – mainly feminist – developments to support collective decision-making by way of digital infrastructures, or more precisely: by way of infrastructuring, i.e. the active shaping of infrastructures. Feminist infrastructure studies are based on the observation that digital infrastructures are often veiled by technocentric vocabularies, functionality and progress narratives, which conceal the bodily, human and material aspects of infrastructure as well as their fragile and political characters. The notion and activities of permacomputing furthermore emphasise the cyclic nature of computing and address questions of making computing sustainable. The seminar engages hands-on and through literature with digital infrastructures. We will discuss community networks or other alternative networking approaches — such as community-owned infrastructure, mesh networks, local IXPs, and community Wi-Fi. These are not just technical solutions, but community-run networks, meaningful connectivity, and pathways toward community-owned IT infrastructure. „Meaningful connectivity“ refers to connectivity that enables community members to have a safe, satisfying, enriching, and productive online experience, at an affordable cost and on terms that make sense locally and trans-locally. No particular technical knowledge is necessary for the seminar but welcome, nonetheless.
Nancy Mauro-Flude is an Australian artist and scholar working on and researching ways of engaging with digital infrastructures that involve bodies, caring practices, and situated collectivity. This semester, she is a Fellow at the College for Social Science and Humanties and co-teacher of this class. The seminar consists of an introductory session on 3rd November 14-16 hrs, and two blocks, one on 23-25 November 2026, and one 8-9 February 2027, all in the room MB 4/165 and 10-16 hrs each day.

Voraussetzungen für Studiennachweise / Modulprüfungen:

Achievement of a “Studiennachweis” requires active participation in the course, reading of the seminar literature and fulfilling of course assignments.
A “Leistungsnachweis” can be achieved by way of an essay or an oral exam. Other exam forms are possible in agreements with the course leaders.