Tipping Points: The Interplay of Physical and Virtual Realities
Mariam Rafehi, Rinah Regina Wuzella (emergent media & media studies)
English/Deutsch, 2 SWS, 2 ECTS
Beginn: Montag, 6.1.2025, Uhrzeit 09:30 Uhr

Registration on Moodle starts 2.12.2024 / Anmeldung auf Moodle beginnt am 2.12.2024:
https://moodle.udk-berlin.de/moodle/course/view.php?id=2596
Moodle Enrollment Key / Einschreibeschlüssel: interplay

This seminar explores the critical tipping points at which the boundaries between physical embodiment and virtual technologies dissolve, reshaping human identity, agency, and societal frameworks. We will analyze how cybernetic enhancements and digital interfaces challenge traditional notions of the body and drive transformative shifts in human-machine relations. In the seminar, we will address and challenge the concept of the “Virtual” as a
relatively new phenomenon tied to digital technology but rather as a notion inherently tied to human existence. How can we address tipping points in the context of physical and virtual realities? How could future scenarios of (human-machine) “mixed” societies” look like? By focusing on pivotal moments of (human) transformation, we aim to understand their profound impact on the human experience and the future of embodiment.

By employing the Azure Kinect sensor and VR, we will explore the shifting relationship between technology and our body/our environment. In this seminar, participants will work collaboratively and with Unity 3D to develop their projects for VR or motion capture. An interest in technology is important, however, no prerequisite knowledge is required.

Rinah Regina Wuzella is a researcher and free lecturer. She studied Media Studies at the University of Vienna and at the Université Paris Nanterre and Post-Conceptual Art Practices at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. She completed a research semester at UC-Berkeley, CA and was then a research assistant at FAU-Erlangen-Nuremberg and also worked as a freelancer in the cultural field and freelance lecturer at Bauhaus Universität Weimar and Filmuniversity Babelsberg, Potsdam.

Mariam Rafehi is an interdisciplinary designer & practice-based researcher in emergent media. She is exploring evolving digital learning cultures & participative methods for education design as part of the School of Commons by ZHdK. Prior to that, she worked with international partners on a research project focusing on potential applications of VR in education. Based on her research with immersive media, she has been a lecturer at UdK, Northwestern University and Virginia Commonwealth University.