Faculty Writing: On the Digital Humanities and Forensic Architecture

Lindsay Caplan wrote “Method Without Methodology”  for E-flux, an essay in which she discusses big data, selfies, and methodology in the digital humanities. 

“To some, the emergence of the selfie reflects the sheer narcissism of youth; to others, it empowers individuals with the means for more self-expression. Still others see the significance of the selfie in its technological base: they argue that cellphone cameras, along with constant and easy access to Instagram and Facebook, democratize both the making and distribution of images, while encouraging complete conformity in style, peer-to-peer. Finally everyone can be an artist—or at the very least, an image- and trend-maker—so long as they adhere to a discrete stylistic repertoire.”

Rotem Rozenthal reviewed Israeli intellectual and architect Eyal Weizman’s latest book, The Conflict Shoreline: Colonization as Climate Change in the Negev, Desert for Tohu Magazine. There, she discusses the author’s use of photography and vision of forensic visual cultural research. 

“Weizman’s book is a rare exploration of the mechanisms used by governmental agencies to dislocate populations, and furthermore, of the systems put in place in order to transform the landscape according to political ideologies. Significantly, through an exploration of different visual representations (maps, photographs, aerial photographs), Weizman uncovers the elusive character of seemingly fixed border lines and meteorological conditions, suggesting their interrelations reflect political conflicts in Israel and beyond.”