[Air-L] Seminar: Smart publics? Mediation and public engagement with science and technology

[Aristea Fotopoulou]

Smart publics? Mediation and public engagement with science and technology
Thursday 5 December, 11:00 until 14:30
Silverstone Lecture Theatre 309, University of Sussex.
Speakers: Jenn Barth, Aristea Fotopoulou, Tobie Kerridge

Part of the Travelling Seminars Series of the Publics then, now and beyond network, co-hosted by Centre for Material Digital Culture, Attenborough Centre for the Arts and Public Culture Hub, University of Sussex.

This research event focuses on the publics and public issues relating to emerging technologies, such as smart energy grids, wearable devices and the Cloud, and co-design for sustainable energy. Bringing together the work of three different research projects: EPINET (Sussex), CAST (Goldsmiths) and ECDC (Goldsmiths), the talks explore the imaginaries and mediation of emerging technologies; public engagement with behavioural tracking and the Human Cloud; and speculative design with energy communities respectively. In their own distinct way, the papers seek to address a range of questions: the different modes of making publics, the different kinds of knowledge and expertise, and the public issues that emerge in this field.

This second Travelling Seminar of the Publics then, now and beyond network is positioned within wider research questions posed by the stream Making/Doing/Being Publics. This research stream of the network focuses on the practices, infrastructures and forms of mediation through which publics are brought into being and through which things are made public. The event is co-organised by two members of the Publics then, now and beyond network, Aristea Fotopoulou (Sussex) and Tobie Kerridge (Goldsmiths).

Programme
11.00 – 11.30 Introductions: Nick Mahony about the Publics then, now and beyond network, Hilde Stephansen & Aristea Fotopoulou on the Making/doing/being publics stream, David Hendy about the Public Culture Hub.

11.30 - 1.30 Talks. Chair: Sally-Jane Norman Discussant: Kate Lacey

- Aristea Fotopoulou (University of Sussex) "Imaginaries of Smart Grids: Public Issues, Contradiction and Controversy"
- Jenn Barth (Goldsmiths, University of London) “Digital Devices, Research and Social Experience”
- Tobie Kerridge (Goldsmiths, University of London) "Energy Babble: Prototyping with energy demand reduction communities"

1.30-2.30 Lunch & Networking

The Publics, then now and beyond network is an international and interdisciplinary network supported by the Creating Publics project, the Centre for Citizenship, Identities and Governance and the Faculty of Social Science at the Open University. 
For more information see publicsnetwork.wordpress.com. 
For abstracts see https://tinyurl.com/ntkwrdk
and http://www.sussex.ac.uk/newsandevents/events?id=20662

All welcome. To register, please email A.Fotopoulou at sussex.ac.uk

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Dr Aristea Fotopoulou

EPINET Research Fellow
Department of Media & Film
University of Sussex
Silverstone Building
Falmer, BN1 9RG

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/206365