Papers by Stefanie Wuschitz
Wien, am 19.05.2014 Unterschrift iii iv CONTENTS v vi combination with the evaluation of empirica... more Wien, am 19.05.2014 Unterschrift iii iv CONTENTS v vi combination with the evaluation of empirical data collected during my field trips. And then at macro level: Comparing international space collectives and networks. In order to discuss the dynamics and actions among persons, objects and artefacts, I will use the terms 'agent' , 'structure' and 'agency', as introduced by Archers,
Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology, May 1, 2018
Sustainability, Aug 20, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts, Apr 27, 2022
In this one-day workshop we are going to make access. We aim to counteract the phenomenon that ac... more In this one-day workshop we are going to make access. We aim to counteract the phenomenon that access to making (e.g., in makerspaces, fablabs, etc.) is not equally distributed, with certain groups of people being underrepresented (e.g., women* 1). After brief introductions from participants and a set of three impulse keynotes, we will envision and "make" interventions together, such as speculative or provocative objects and actions. The workshop takes a constructive stance with the goal to not rest on empirical and theoretical fndings or individual experiences, but to translate those into viable interventions. These serve as exemplars of fndings with the clear goal of being deployed soon after. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → HCI theory, concepts and models.
BCS Learning & Development, 2021
Citizen labs often take in the role of promoting equality and tech literacy in their community. T... more Citizen labs often take in the role of promoting equality and tech literacy in their community. These two aims are entangled when it comes to enabling free speech online and offline. The methods of Indonesian citizen labs were shaped by decades of state propaganda and extended colonialism. These citizen labs also have deep roots in Indonesia's history, which informs the way critical media practises are cultivated. Sharing tech skills, offering formats for critical thinking and creativity was performed with a specific form of care, one that protects participants through encoding. In this paper we want to focus on three generations of Indonesian pioneers, who set up feminist citizen labs struggling against hegemonic forces. In particular we are investigating the roots of feminist citizen labs in the grassroot organization Gerwani. In the scope of our arts-based research project interviews with survivors of this destroyed women movement and interviews with initiators and members of current collectives were translated into an animated documentary.
A Diffractive Approach to Feminist Media Art
SSRN Electronic Journal
Proceedings of the 2019 on Designing Interactive Systems Conference, 2019
The paper offers an ethnographic account of racial and cultural difference as sites to contest do... more The paper offers an ethnographic account of racial and cultural difference as sites to contest dominant practices of computing and technology. Specifically, we focus on how a collective of Indonesian biohackers position the care labor of a generation of women (referred to as Nenek-nenek in Bahasa Indonesia) to retrace the origins and boundaries of their making, hacking, and citizen science practices. The paper's contribution is to bring the study of the political economy of hacking and making into conversation with themes of racial and cultural difference in postcolonial computing across HCI, STS, and design. More specifically, the paper examines how Indonesian biohackers position situated histories and expertise as properly technological. Further, we show how their articulation of Indonesian difference was in turn appropriated by foreign hackers and commentators to envision tech futures against the status quo.
Access to Interfaces of Expression
Space (Re)Solutions, 2011
In the last five years, Syria has experienced an increase in Western imports and considerable gro... more In the last five years, Syria has experienced an increase in Western imports and considerable growth within the IT field. While Syria's one party socialist system is adapting neoliberal economic strategies that encourage repression, young female artists use the ...
Making Access: Increasing Inclusiveness in Making
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts, Apr 27, 2022
Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology, 2018
Special issue article: Feminist human–computer interaction: Working at the intersection of feminist theory and digital innovation, 2022
Makerspaces and hacklabs are believed to encourage a positive attitude towards gaining computer s... more Makerspaces and hacklabs are believed to encourage a positive attitude towards gaining computer skills. Within these communities for peer production, citizens can apply cut- ting-edge technologies in DIY projects. In recent decades, mushrooming makerspaces and hacklabs were embraced by the tech industry and governments alike. Feminist makerspaces and hacklabs, however, as they are centred around a queer feminist agenda, have raised eyebrows. In order to foster diversity in tech development, they create safer spaces for self-expression. Here, feminist lay(wo)men* (To emphasise that the category ‘Woman’ is constructed and that more people than only those who identify as women are being included, one uses the sign * after the term ‘women’ ), makers, designers, artists and tinkerers experiment with open-source hardware and software. Art and design projects emerging from feminist hacklabs focus on issues of representation and democratic participation in digital media, as well as on ways of reclaiming one’s own body. This article tries to unpack how, after an exhibition on sexual health norms, a fem- inist hacklab was attacked by local right-wing and conservative politicians. The attack resulted in the defunding of the feminist hacklab. But it also started a transformation process within the collective, as members became aware of critical interferences of dif- fracting marginalisations. The crisis triggered a discussion on how each member was threatened to very different degrees; for example, there was more at stake for members depending on their legal status in the country. The right-wing and conservative campaign against the feminist hacklab damaged the initiative, but at the same time it pushed the collective to generate increased vehemence and resilience.
Electronic Workshops in Computing
Interferences of the Multitude is an introductory analysis of the perspectives collected under th... more Interferences of the Multitude is an introductory analysis of the perspectives collected under the umbrella of the homonymous track, presented during the Rogue Research edition of the 3rd Politics of the Machines Conference in Berlin (September 14-17, 2021). The paper examines the implementation of arts-based research into the new modes of techno-ecofeminist imaginaries and investigates its generative potential for the enactment of the new materialist and feminist ethics of care, collaboration, and solidarity. The projects presented and discussed span the entangled fields of human-computer interaction, computer-supported cooperative work, material sciences, critical design and making, architecture, machine learning, interactive art, and post-human performance.
Proceedings of Polititcs of the machines - Rogue Research 2021 (POM 2021) , 2022
Citizen labs often take in the role of promoting equality and tech literacy in their community. T... more Citizen labs often take in the role of promoting equality and tech literacy in their community. These two aims are entangled when it comes to enabling free speech online and offline. The methods of Indonesian citizen labs were shaped by decades of state propaganda and extended colonialism. These citizen labs also have deep roots in Indonesia's history, which informs the way critical media practises are cultivated. Sharing tech skills, offering formats for critical thinking and creativity was performed with a specific form of care, one that protects participants through encoding. In this paper we want to focus on three generations of Indonesian pioneers, who set up feminist citizen labs struggling against hegemonic forces. In particular we are investigating the roots of feminist citizen labs in the grassroot organization Gerwani. In the scope of our arts-based research project interviews with survivors of this destroyed women movement and interviews with initiators and members of current collectives were translated into an animated documentary.
Creating mobile media and social change?
Public Space and Relational Perspectives, 2014
A feminist hacklab’s resilience towards anti-democratic forces
Feminist Theory
Makerspaces and hacklabs are believed to encourage a positive attitude towards gaining computer s... more Makerspaces and hacklabs are believed to encourage a positive attitude towards gaining computer skills. Within these communities for peer production, citizens can apply cutting-edge technologies in DIY projects. In recent decades, mushrooming makerspaces and hacklabs were embraced by the tech industry and governments alike. Feminist makerspaces and hacklabs, however, as they are centred around a queer feminist agenda, have raised eyebrows. In order to foster diversity in tech development, they create safer spaces for self-expression. Here, feminist lay(wo)men* (To emphasise that the category ‘Woman’ is constructed and that more people than only those who identify as women are being included, one uses the sign * after the term ‘women’ ), makers, designers, artists and tinkerers experiment with open-source hardware and software. Art and design projects emerging from feminist hacklabs focus on issues of representation and democratic participation in digital media, as well as on ways of...
Hacking Feminism
The Art of Reverse Engineering, 2014
10. Feministische Hackerspaces und andere Strategien technologischer Aneignung
Vanessa Carpenter Aalborg University C. Meyers Vænge 15, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark vjc@create.aau.... more Vanessa Carpenter Aalborg University C. Meyers Vænge 15, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark vjc@create.aau.dk Sarah Homewood IT University of Copenhagen Rued Langgaards Vej, 7, Copenhagen Denmark shom@itu.dk Majken Overgaard Catch Centre for Art and Technology Allegade 2, 3000, Helsingør Denmark majkenovergaard@gmail.com Stefanie Wuschitz Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Mz* Baltazar's Laboratory 1090 Wien, Augasse 2–6 s.wuschitz@akbild.ac.at
Access to Interfaces of Expression A Workshop with Women Artists in Syria
The Women* Who Made It: Experiences from Being a Woman* at a Maker Festival
This paper examines the profile of 10 women* makers attending Schmiede, a 10-day maker festival, ... more This paper examines the profile of 10 women* makers attending Schmiede, a 10-day maker festival, which is unique not least due to its almost equal gender distribution. Drawing on interviews with women* attendees, we describe general struggles in fitting in the culture of spaces for making, the role of mentorship in childhood and adulthood, motivations and different approaches for engaging in making, limiting factors in (art-)making, and the consequences of sexism for making practice. We then discuss the characteristics of these women* makers in relation to existing literature about the culture in maker spaces and festivals and conclude by highlighting characteristics of the observed festival that may have resulted in more inclusive access for women* and other underrepresented groups.
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Papers by Stefanie Wuschitz