<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#666666">
Dear reSourcers,<br>
<br>
the next Disruption Network Lab event "IGNORANCE: The Power of
Non-Knowledge" is coming up on September 30 and October 1, which
this time will focus on and explore the making and unmaking of
ignorance for political, legal, technological and social uses in
everyday life, manifested as different forms of what has been termed
“non-knowledge”. You can find all the details about the pre-Lab
program at Spektrum, as well as the main program at Studio 1 below!<br>
<br>
Hope to see you!<br>
<br>
All the best,<br>
Daniela<br>
<br>
----<br>
<br>
September 30 - October 1, 2016 <br>
<br>
IGNORANCE: THE POWER OF NON-KNOWLEDGE<br>
<br>
“Art & Evidence” Series by Disruption Network Lab<br>
<br>
Artists, scientists, researchers, activists and journalists present
and discuss ways and strategies to explore, unveil and unmake
ignorance and its political, legal, technological and social uses in
everyday life.<br>
<br>
The second event of the “Art & Evidence” series by Disruption
Network Lab 2016 will investigate the political, economic,
technological and social uses and dimensions of ignorance in
everyday life, manifested as different forms of what has been termed
“non-knowledge”. Definitions of ignorance as mere voids or gaps in
the growing sea of knowledge, as well as the common use of the word
for referring to a state of deliberate or willful disregard for
important facts, are oversimplifying and failing to recognize the
manifold reasons, forms and dynamics behind its existence or
maintenance. Claim of knowledge always requires its dissociation
from what it is not, or what lies outside of it’s boundaries, and a
growing number of scholars has begun to study ignorance as a field
of inquiry of its own right, thereby demonstrating that
understanding what ignorance is, how it comes to be and how it is or
can be used in the pursuit of different goals requires an engagement
and analysis as differentiated and complex as that related to
knowledge and its production. <br>
<br>
Many reasons for the existence and persistence of ignorance have
been identified—such as secrecy through classification, maintenance
of controversies through denialists’ claims, “balanced reporting”
routines in the media that misrepresenting the level of consensus
within the scientific community, PR strategies specifically
developed to cast doubt on scientific research that indicates health
risks of products marketed by powerful companies and big business,
the non-transfer of existing knowledge or even dismissal of
knowledge that is regarded as too sensitive, controversial or taboo
to be produced. Within jurisdiction, the principle “ignorantia juris
non excusat” stipulates that the law—and therefore penalization for
wrongdoing—applies also to those who are not aware of it. But what
if the wrongdoing is a moral one, not penalized by law? What
strategies and experimental approaches can help us to create more
awareness of the limits of knowledge, of their implications and of
our moral and ethical, if not legal, responsibilities related to not
knowing?<br>
<br>
The areas of research and topics presented will range from phenomena
in scientific practice and research to the current political
scenario that we are witnessing; the study and closer look at
strategies behind the deliberate production and spreading of
ignorance for political agendas, such as the creation and
dissemination of conspiracy theories or manipulative use of
language, has gained more importance than ever if we want to
understand the reasons for the growing success of populist
campaigns. During the two days of keynote lectures, panel
discussions and a film screening, scientists, artists, researchers
and journalists will discuss and present the growing understanding
of social and technical constructions of ignorance, and how
ignorance defines what can be known by specific groups with
different access to power and social status. <br>
<br>
<br>
PRE-EVENT:<br>
<br>
September 14, 2016: PRE-LAB @SPEKTRUM, Berlin<br>
<br>
From 19.00 – IGNORANCE MASH-UP<br>
<br>
In anticipation of the main event’s exploration of various
strategies behind the production and maintenance of non-knowledge
for various political, legal, technological and social uses, the
pre-event hosted by SPEKTRUM will present a sneak peak of some of
the dynamics behind the social construction of ignorance. Wicked
problems, our “bullshit society” and blatant communication
strategies in the media and PR landscape will be presented through a
small selection of videos, followed by a Disruption Network Lab’s
community getting together.<br>
<br>
The event is presented by Daniela Silvestrin and will take place in
collaboration with SPEKTRUM | art science community
(spektrumberlin.de).<br>
<br>
<br>
CONFERENCE EVENTS<br>
<br>
September 30, 2016<br>
<br>
16:00-17:15 – KEYNOTE<br>
IGNORANCE: HOW TO KNOW ABOUT NOT KNOWING<br>
Matthias Gross (sociologist and science studies scholar, DE).
Moderated by Daniela Silvestrin (curator, Disruption Network Lab,
DE).<br>
In his keynote, Matthias Gross will present the publication and
overview of inquiries within the field of ignorance studies he
co-edited together with Linsey McGoey: Once treated as the absence
of knowledge, ignorance today has become a highly influential topic
in its own right, commanding growing attention across the natural
and social sciences where a wide range of scholars have begun to
explore the social life and political issues involved in the
distribution and strategic use of not knowing. The field is growing
fast and this handbook reflects this interdisciplinary field of
study by drawing contributions from economics, sociology, history,
philosophy, cultural studies, anthropology, feminist studies, and
related fields in order to serve as a seminal guide to the
political, legal and social uses of ignorance in social and
political life.<br>
<br>
17:45-19:15 – PANEL<br>
THE FORBIDDEN, THE DOUBTFUL AND THE MORAL. WHAT COULD BE KNOWN BUT
ISN’T <br>
Joanna Kempner (sociologist, US), Jamie Allen (artist and
researcher, CA/CH), Jan Willem Wieland (philosopher and researcher,
NL). Moderated by Teresa Dillon (researcher and artist, IE/DE/UK).<br>
While it is difficult enough to develop what has been termed
“negative knowledge”, that is, knowledge about the limits of
knowledge (Karin Knorr-Cetina), also later in the process it
continues to be a challenge to understand how to deal with these
identified fields of non-knowledge. This panel will deal with such
known unknowns, and present experimental methods of investigation as
well as the resulting question related to the responsibility for
not-knowing in moral and ethical terms: <br>
While Joanna Kempner will present her exploration and work within
the territories of “forbidden knowledge” in medical science
research, Jamie Allen will give insight into his artistic work and
research related to “apocryphal technologies” as examples for
ignorance through the false believe of being knowledgable. The
ethical questions related to these and other forms of willful (that
is, motivated, affected, or strategic) forms of ignorance, to what
can and should have already been known, will be presented by Jan
Willem Wieland. Taking new forms of slavery and our so-called
slavery-footprint as an example, he will discuss the question of
whether people who are willfully ignorant can be held responsible
for it.<br>
<br>
19:30-21:15 – SCREENING<br>
MERCHANTS OF DOUBT<br>
Documentary directed by Robert Kenner (2014, 1h36min, OV).
Introduced by Daniela Silvestrin.<br>
“Merchants of Doubt” is a 2014 American documentary film directed by
Robert Kenner that was inspired by the 2010 book of the same name by
Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. The film traces the use of public
relations tactics that were originally developed by the tobacco
industry to protect their business from research indicating health
risks from smoking. The most prominent of these tactics is the
cultivation of scientists and others who successfully cast doubt on
the scientific results. Using a professional magician, the film
explores the analogy between these tactics and the methods used by
magicians to distract their audiences from observing how illusions
are performed. For the tobacco industry, the tactics successfully
delayed government regulation until long after the establishment of
scientific consensus about the health risks from smoking. As its
second example, the film describes how manufacturers of flame
retardants worked to protect their sales after toxic effects of the
retardants were discovered. The central concern of the film is the
ongoing use of these tactics to forestall governmental action to
regulate greenhouse gas emissions in response to the risk of global
climate change.<br>
<br>
October 1, 2016 <br>
<br>
17:00-18:15 – KEYNOTE<br>
PRODUCING THEORIES, CONSPIRING IGNORANCE: ON THE RISE OF POPULIST
MOVEMENTS<br>
Karen Douglas (social psychologist, UK). Moderated by Martin F.
Robbins (researcher and science writer, UK).<br>
In the context of the current political scenario, we are witnessing
a widespread success of populist campaigns. Growing tendencies
towards right-wing populist movements could be observed all over
Europe during the past few months and years, recently finding a
climax in the UK’s vote in favor of “Brexit”. Meanwhile similarly,
on the other side of the ocean, Trump is winning over a growing
percentage of American voters by blatantly constructing theories
based on unproven facts and figures, to blame, shame, accuse and
slander different minorities, single people or unpopular
authorities, with the aim to spread mistrust, doubt, and disbelief
in the other side, and to promote himself as the real and only
“truth-teller” in the political arena. From afar, all seems to be
crystal clear, and the Trumps, Farages, Wilders, and other figures
on that stage seem to be as transparent as plastic foil — but how is
it possible that the use of conspiracy theories could become and
prove to be so useful for inducing ignorance and disbelief among
those who are addressed? If looking closer at both the strategies of
inducing and maintaining ignorance among the population, as well as
at the psychological mechanisms behind it, can we not only
understand them better but also find ways to counteract them? Why
are conspiracy theories so popular? Who believes them and why? What
are the ways in which people can and do manipulate subtle features
of their language in order to achieve social goals? These and other
questions and reflections will be addressed by social psychologist
Karen Douglas, and discussed with the researcher and journalist
Martin F. Robbins. <br>
<br>
18:45-20:45 – PANEL<br>
MANIPULATION INCORPORATED: <br>
ON SOCIAL MEDIA TARGETING, SELF-BRANDING, AND EMOTIONAL
PORNIFICATION <br>
<br>
Ippolita group (activists and writers, IT), Hannah Jane Parkinson
(digital culture journalist and writer, UK), and Vladan Joler (SHARE
Foundation director and chair of New Media Department at the
University of Novi Sad, RS). Moderated by Tatiana Bazzichelli
(artistic director, Disruption Network Lab, IT/DE). <br>
<br>
Which strategies of manipulation are hidden behind the use of social
media? What are the targeting methods used by Facebook during
political campaigns? How does an algorithm quantify and influence
our intimate lives? Who is controlling our data and for what are
they used? Social media corporations have been basing their economy
on trade of personal connections, targeting of users, and the
commercial use of our sensitive data. This is a trade that most of
the time we accept almost automatically, exchanging data for free
services. But while we experiment the pleasure of being always
connected and the playful dependence of exposing our intimate
digital self, somebody else is profiting, and even trying to orient
our political vote. As pointed out by the Ippolita collective, who
will presents the contents of the book Anime Elettriche. Riti e miti
social (“Electric Souls: social rituals and myths”, Jaca Book, 2016,
it.), we are electrical souls permanently in ecstasy, practicing the
discipline of emotional pornography in the media spotlight - without
realising we are at the mercy of a doping and manipulative power. A
power that knows how to use social media, as well as operate across
them, as we read on The Guardian piece by Hannah Jane Parkinson, who
will describe Trump’s social media strategy, as well as the
post-fact problematic posed by the “Vote Leave” campaign by Boris
Johnson in the UK. With Vladan Joler we will investigate what is at
the core of the Facebook Algorithmic Factory, to map and visualise a
complex and invisible exploitation process hidden behind a black box
of the World’s largest social network. Furthermore, we will reflect
on critical ideas and collective challenges to understand dominant
technologies of today, and how they can be used responsibly to avoid
being in-corporated by induced ignorance.<br>
<br>
Biographies:<br>
<br>
Matthias Gross (Sociologist and science studies scholar, DE).<br>
Matthias Gross is Professor of Environmental Sociology at Helmholtz
Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig and the University of
Jena, Germany. His research focuses on renewable energy, experiment
and innovation, and the changing role of civil society in
environmental policy. His is author of several books including
Ignorance and Surprise: Science, Society, and Ecological Design (MIT
Press) and together with Linsey McGoey editor of the Routledge
International Handbook of Ignorance Studies.<br>
<br>
Joanna Kempner (sociologist, US)<br>
Joanna Kempner, an associate professor of sociology at Rutgers
University, works at the intersection of medicine, science, gender,
and the body. She has written extensively on "forbidden knowledge,"
which is the basis of her current book project on underground
psychedelic drug research. Her award-winning book, Not Tonight:
Migraine and the Politics of Gender and Health (Chicago 2014),
examines the social values embedded in the way we talk about,
understand, and make policies for people in pain.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://joannakempner.com/">http://joannakempner.com/</a><br>
<br>
Jamie Allen (artist and researcher, CA/CH) <br>
IXDM’s Senior Researcher Jamie Allen’s interests lie in the ways
that creative uses of technology teach us about who we are as
individuals, cultures and societies. Born in Canada, and working
primarily between New York, the UK, Copenhagen and now Basel, Jamie
has been involved with emerging technologies as a designer,
researcher, artist and teacher for over 12 years. He likes to make
things with his head and hands – investigations into the material
systems of media, electricity, and information as artwork, design
projects and practice-based research. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.jamieallen.com">http://www.jamieallen.com</a><br>
<br>
Jan Willem Wieland (philosopher and researcher, NL)<br>
Assistent professor in the Department of Philosophy at Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam. Doing research on people's so-called slavery
footprint, and specifically on whether people who are ignorant —
willfully, strategically ignorant — of their footprint can be held
responsible for it.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.slavernijvoetafdruk.nl">http://www.slavernijvoetafdruk.nl</a><br>
<br>
Teresa Dillon (artist and researcher, IE/DE/UK)<br>
Teresa Dillon is an artist, researcher and Professor of City Futures
at the Watershed, UWE, Bristol. Her performative, research and sound
based work explores techno-civic interfaces and relationships with
current projects focusing on sound re-enactments of the built
environment, free-to-use Urban Huts and infrastructural literacies
within Smart City contexts. She holds a PhD in social and
educational psychology and has co-designed educational software at
Futurelab/NFER and for the BBC. Teresa has published on various
media and art related topics, and since 2013 directs Urban Knights,
a program that promotes practical approaches to urban governance and
living. Between 2014-2016, Teresa undertook a Humboldt Fellowship at
the Technical University and the University of the Arts in Berlin,
where she carried out work on artistic approaches to making the
electromagnetic spectrum audible.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.polarproduce.org">http://www.polarproduce.org</a><br>
<br>
Karen Douglas (social psychologist, UK)<br>
Karen Douglas is a Professor of Social Psychology at the University
of Kent. She studies the psychological factors associated with
belief in conspiracy theories and some of the potential social,
health and environmental consequences of belief in conspiracy
theories.<br>
<br>
Martin F. Robbins (researcher and science writer, UK)<br>
Martin Robbins is a Berkshire-based researcher, writer and talker at
the messy border of science and culture. He is a columnist at VICE,
and blogs for The Guardian and the New Statesman about science,
pseudoscience and evidence-based politics. <br>
<br>
Hannah Jane Parkinson (digital culture journalist and writer, UK)<br>
Hannah Jane Parkinson is a digital journalist at The Guardian. She
is a writer on pop culture, music, tech, football, politics and
mental health. She lives in London and previously lived in Russia,
Oxford and Liverpool. She likes reading, sauvignon blanc, laughing
and Liverpool FC. Twitter: @ladyhaja<br>
<br>
Ippolita group (activists and writers, IT)<br>
Ippolita is an indisciplinary research group active since 2005. They
conduct wide-ranging research on technologies of domination and
their social effects. Their essays include Anime Elettriche (2016),
La Rete è libera e democratica. FALSO! (2014), In the Facebook
Aquarium (2012),The Dark Side of Google (2007), Open non è Free
(2005). The collective also run workshops on digital self-defense
and convivial informatics for girls, children, academics, affinity
groups, computer geeks and curious people. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://ippolita.net">http://ippolita.net</a><br>
<br>
Vladan Joler (SHARE Foundation director and chair of New Media
Department at the University of Novi Sad, RS).<br>
Vladan Joler is Associate Professor and Chair of New Media
Department at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia and the director of
the SHARE Foundation, nonprofit organization that is dedicated to
protecting the rights of Internet citizens and promoting positive
values of openness, decentralization, free access and exchange of
knowledge, information and technology. In last 2 years Vladan is
leading Share Lab – a research and data investigation lab for
exploring different technical aspects of the intersections between
technology and society. Share Lab is using various network topology,
data mining and data visualization methods to uncover, visualize and
independently monitor different aspects of Internet privacy and
security. Their most recent investigation is about the Facebook
Algorithmic Factory: Facebook’s data collection, storage,
algorithmic processing, and targeting.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://labs.rs/en/">https://labs.rs/en/</a> <br>
<br>
<br>
Funded by: Der Regierende Bürgermeister von Berlin, Senatskanzlei /
City Tax. <br>
In partnership with: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. In cooperation with:
Kunstraum /Kreuzberg /Bethanien. <br>
In collaboration with: SPEKTRUM (<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://spektrumberlin.de">http://spektrumberlin.de</a>), The
Resistance Studies Network (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.resistancestudies.org">www.resistancestudies.org</a>) and the
Resistance Study Initiative – RSI, University of Massachusetts
Amherst, USA (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.umass.edu/resistancestudies">www.umass.edu/resistancestudies</a>).
Media partners:
ExBerliner, Furtherfield. <br>
Location: Kunstquartier Bethanien - Studio 1, Mariannenplatz 2,
10997 Berlin.<br>
Schedule: September 30 (16.00-21.15); October 1 (17.00-20.45), 2016
<br>
Details: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.disruptionlab.org">http://www.disruptionlab.org</a><br>
Tickets: 5€ / day<br>
<br>
More info: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.disruptionlab.org">www.disruptionlab.org</a><br>
Twitter: @disruptberlin (Hashtag: #dnl) <br>
Facebook: facebook.com/disruptionlab<br>
<br>
Tatiana Bazzichelli (Artistic Director and Curator)
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:tbazz@disruptionlab.org">tbazz@disruptionlab.org</a><br>
Daniela Silvestrin (Co-Curator) <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:daniela@disruptionlab.org">daniela@disruptionlab.org</a><br>
Claudia Dorfmueller (Administration and Project Manager)
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:claudia@disruptionlab.org">claudia@disruptionlab.org</a><br>
Kim Voss (Project Manager) <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:kim@disruptionlab.org">kim@disruptionlab.org</a><br>
Tabea Hamperl (Press Manager) <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:tabea@disruptionlab.org">tabea@disruptionlab.org</a><br>
<br>
</body>
</html>