When ethnology and computer science meet
The video documents the project “Partners in the Trading Zone”, in which the disciplines of ethnology and computer science interact with each other. The focus is on embroidery – both machine-programmed and done by hand – as a connecting element (boundary object) between cultural practice and technical mediation.
The starting point is the question of how both disciplines can learn from each other and at the same time retain their independence. Machine embroidery is used as a didactic approach to programming. At the same time, hand embroidery opens up new perspectives on appreciation, individuality and cultural significance.
The project critically reflects on how digital processes depict reality and poses the question of what may be lost in the process. The combination of haptic experience, cultural knowledge and computer science methodology creates a space in which disciplines inspire each other without replacing each other.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmalfeldt, Larissa Meyer, Ina von Woyski and Prof. Dr. Mareile Flitsch speak in the video. The project is a cooperation between the PH Zurich, UZH, the Ethnographic Museum of the UZH and the Creative Computing Lab Zurich.
Video: ANSICH
