Media Archaeology
Dr Jussi Parikka, who has just joined Winchester School of Art as Reader in Media & Design, has published a new book. His co-edited volume 'Media Archaeology: Approaches, Applications and Implications' came out from University of California Press, and was the result of a collaboration with Professor Erkki Huhtamo (UCLA).
The book introduces an archaeological approach to the study of media and media arts. It sifts through the evidence to learn how media were written about, used, designed, preserved, and sometimes discarded. Media Archaeology includes contributions from internationally prominent scholars from Europe, North America, and Japan. By revisiting ‘old' or even ‘dead' media, it provides a richer horizon for understanding ‘new' media in their complex and often contradictory roles in contemporary society and culture.
In the words of artist Zoe Beloff: "As an artist, my mind is set on fire by discussions of the marvelous inventions that never made it to the mainstream, such as optophonic poetry, Christopher Strachey's 1952 ‘Love letter generator' for the Manchester Mark II computer, and the ‘Baby talkie."
Dr Parikka's previous book Insect Media: An Archaeology of Animals and Technology (University of Minnesota Press) was earlier this year. His home page and blog can be found at: http://jussiparikka.net