Annual ETHU Seminar 2020-2021
Objects, Technology, Existence: Engaging with Graham Harman’s OOO
———
February 24th, 2021
Vrije Universiteit Brussel – online symposium
The Centre for Ethics and Humanism (ETHU) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
(VUB) kindly invites you to its Annual ETHU Seminar, edition 2020-2021:
‘Objects, Technology, Existence: Engaging with Graham Harman’s OOO.’
This symposium was originally scheduled to take place physically at the VUB in
March 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are happy now to
organize it anew in an entirely online format.
Graham Harman’s object-oriented ontology (OOO) has in the past decade become an
unavoidable approach—not in the least due to Harman’s prolific writing and
speaking on topics as diverse as art, architecture, media and politics. Those
themes invariably take on a new (and fresh) light when viewed through the lens
of his unique perspective. At the same time, Harman has continued to sculpt and
finetune his central framework throughout these discussions. This way, OOO has
grown into a potent, and established, tool for creative thinking on the most
diverse matters.
At this one-day symposium we engage with Harman himself and with his work.
Specifically, we want to zoom in on matters of technology and existence—this
symposium being part of an ongoing research project at the Centre for Ethics
and Humanism on “Existential Ethics of AI.” We are living in “algorithmic
times,” in which many mechanisms that steer and affect our everyday life go
hiding behind the scenes: machine learning, “smart” systems, technical
infrastructures, that imperceptibly shape our existence. We may use OOO, with
its notion of an ever-withdrawing “real object,” to gain a fresh perspective on
our predicament. What conceptual instruments and insights can OOO offer us for
coping in our contemporary, intensely digitally mediated environment? In
dialogue with Harman, the speakers at the seminar will approach these issues,
each in their own way engaging with OOO.
Speakers: Prof. dr. Graham Harman (SCI-Arc), Lisa Doeland (Radboud University
Nijmegen), Dr. Arjen Kleinherenbrink (Radboud University Nijmegen), Niki Young
(University of Malta), Prof. dr. Hans Alma (VU Amsterdam), Dr. Yoni Van Den
Eede (VUB)
Practical: the event will take place entirely online, on Wednesday February
24th, 2021 – from 6 to 10 PM CET. No registration is needed. All interested are
welcome to attend for free, via Microsoft Teams. More practical details and the
meeting URL can be found here:
-
https://ethu.research.vub.be/en/annual-ethu-seminar-2020-2021-%E2%80%93-objects-technology-existence-engaging-with-graham-harman%E2%80%99s-ooo
<https://ethu.research.vub.be/en/annual-ethu-seminar-2020-2021-%E2%80%93-objects-technology-existence-engaging-with-graham-harman%E2%80%99s-ooo>
- https://www.facebook.com/events/227991432192306 ;
<https://www.facebook.com/events/227991432192306>
Contact: yoni.van.den.eede@xxxxxx <mailto:yoni.van.den.eede@xxxxxx>
