In design, a concept of »media« is needed that goes beyond the conventional understanding of »media.« When designing products, artifacts, and communicative processes, an expanded concept of media comes into play. Without media, there is no »culture,« since culture consists of sign-mediated social interaction. Cultural practices are diverse: recording, transmission, and dissemination; meaning-making and entertainment; persuasion and conviction; mediation and communication… These cultural practices take shape and are brought to life through various media. What can be used as a carrier, space, or medium for visual, auditory, or intangible data so that people can turn it into information or so that machines can process it into transformed data?

This course offers historically oriented examinations of individual media and systematic analyses of various media theories. It introduces students to the most important media theories of the 20th century and the present day. In-depth analyses are presented and discussed through exemplary »case studies.« The course also focuses on understanding the historical development of modern media culture, its effects, and the underlying interests.

Please register for the course on the FHWS e-learning platform. There you will find texts for the course and additional reading recommendations.