Topic: The winter school takes place among the celebrations of the Vilém Flusser centennial. The winter school is to honor the significance of Vilém Flusser’s work for the development of media philosophy and media cultural history yet without orthodoxy in interpreting him. His reflections on the future of digital culture were prophetic and far ahead of their time. On his 100th  birthday we will be examining the relevance of Flusser’s thought for our understanding of digital culture.
Participants will explore and discuss Flusser’s technophilosophical experiments, his collaborations with artists and scientists and ideas for how technological apparatus can be instruments for philosophy and not only subjects of philosophy. Additionally we will raise questions such as: how can his positions be critically honoured today? Which premises shaped his thought? Which media can best support critical thought today?

Educational goals: The participants will learn the essential features of Vilém Flusser’s work in philosophy and media studies. They will become familiarised with the procedures and current problems of German media theory and media philosophy, particularly with regard to digital culture. The participants will conclude the winter school by presenting their own projects on the topic of the summer school combining theory and artistic practice.

Time frame: 5 joint ZOOM sessions with instructors Ulrich Richtmeyer (FH Potsdam), Katerina Krtilová (ZhdK Zürich) and Baruch Gottlieb (UdK Berlin). Fridays 23.10, 6.11, 20.11, 4.12, 18.12.2020 each time from 1400-1800 Central European Time. Participants will be asked to do several short individual and group assignments.

This free course is supported by the DAAD and West Den Haag