The Interface Effect

Beschreibung

Interfaces are back, or perhaps they never left. The familiarSocratic conceit from the Phaedrus, of communication as theprocess of writing directly on the soul of the other, has returnedto center stage in today's discussions of culture and media. IndeedWestern thought has long construed media as a grand choice betweentwo kinds of interfaces. Following the optimistic path, mediaseamlessly interface self and other in a transparent and immediateconnection. But, following the pessimistic path, media are theobstacles to direct communion, disintegrating self and other intomisunderstanding and contradiction. In other words, mediainterfaces are either clear or complicated, either beautiful ordeceptive, either already known or endlessly interpretable. Recognizing the limits of either path, Galloway charts analternative course by considering the interface as an autonomouszone of aesthetic activity, guided by its own logic and its ownends: the interface effect. Rather than praisinguser-friendly interfaces that work well, or castigating those thatwork poorly, this book considers the unworkable nature of allinterfaces, from windows and doors to screens and keyboards.Considered allegorically, such thresholds do not so much tell thestory of their own operations but beckon outward into the realm ofsocial and political life, and in so doing ask a question to whichthe political interpretation of interfaces is the only coherentanswer. Grounded in philosophy and cultural theory and driven by closereadings of video games, software, television, painting, and otherimages, Galloway seeks to explain the logic of digital culturethrough an analysis of its most emblematic and ubiquitousmanifestation - the interface.

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Alexander R. Galloway

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Communication & Media Studies Cultural Studies Kommunikation u. Medienforschung Kulturwissenschaften Media Studies Medienforschung

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"Of vital importance to digital research; it should be included in any studies of the digital or mediated domain." Media International Australia "The Interface Effect fuses sophisticated contemporary theory with a detailed knowledge of the technics and techniques of digital media. Galloway is an important voice, and the book is sure to have a wide uptake among those interested in new media theory and contemporary aesthetics." Jodi Dean, author of Blog Theory: Feedback and Capture in the Circuits of Drive "Employing a sustained, powerful methodology, The Interface Effect sparkles with original insights. Galloway is interested not only in the effects that interfaces have, but also in them as themselves the results of cultural, technological, economic, and political forces. This double movement provides a way to connect the historical with the political, and the technological with both. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in new media studies, contemporary theory, and digital technologies." N. Katherine Hayles, Professor of Literature, Duke University, and author of How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary Technogenesis
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