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240535 SE MM3 Machine Vision (2026S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Participation at first session is obligatory!The lecturer can invite students to a grade-relevant discussion about partial achievements. Partial achievements that are obtained by fraud or plagiarized result in the non-evaluation of the course (entry 'X' in certificate). The plagiarism software 'Turnitin' will be used.
The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) for the attainment of partial achievements is only allowed if explicitly requested by the course instructor.
The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) for the attainment of partial achievements is only allowed if explicitly requested by the course instructor.
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Mo 02.02.2026 17:00 to Mo 23.02.2026 23:59
- Deregistration possible until Fr 15.05.2026 23:59
Details
max. 25 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
UPDATE 03.06.2026: changed dates
- Wednesday 13.05. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
- Wednesday 20.05. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
- Wednesday 27.05. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
- Wednesday 03.06. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
- Wednesday 10.06. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
- Wednesday 17.06. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
- Wednesday 24.06. 09:45 - 13:00 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
What can Google Street View, drone warfare, Instagram, satellite imaging, protest videos, and pipeline monitoring data tell us about how images mediate our social and political present? How do contemporary visual technologies—human yet more-than-human, machinic yet not only machinic—shed light on broader debates over subjectivity, the political, and the human sensorium in mass-mediated societies? This course aims to extend and deepen students’ understanding of the relations between visual media and sociopolitical life. Beginning with older discussions over photography, film, and cybernetics, the course moves towards a focus on more recent technologies driven by smartphone cameras, (anti)imperial warfare, algorithms and automation, and late capitalism’s financial, logistical, and extractive operations. If time permits, we will address recent work on silicon empire and contemporary techno-feudalism. Broadly, the course presents current debates over visual media as extensions and reformulations of a long-held set of concerns: what do visual media reveal about social relations of power, the possibility of transcending those relations, and dreams of (post)human freedom? Beyond the required readings, we will also view relevant films, video, and photographic work, such as those of Harun Farocki, Allan Sekula, and Hito Steyerl.
Assessment and permitted materials
The course requires students to read each session’s assigned readings; reflect on the readings in the form of one response paper per session; make one in-class presentation; participate actively in in-class discussion; and submit a final term paper.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Response papers: 30%
Participation: 30% (5% attendance, 10% in-class participation, 15% in-class presentation)
Term paper: 40%91-100 points: 1 (excellent)
81-90 points: 2 (good)
71-80 points: 3 (satisfactory)
61-70 points: 4 (sufficient)To complete the course, students need to obtain at least 61 points.
Participation: 30% (5% attendance, 10% in-class participation, 15% in-class presentation)
Term paper: 40%91-100 points: 1 (excellent)
81-90 points: 2 (good)
71-80 points: 3 (satisfactory)
61-70 points: 4 (sufficient)To complete the course, students need to obtain at least 61 points.
Examination topics
The course does not require an exam.
Reading list
Potential readings. Full syllabus available on first day of class—assorted films to be included as well.Barthes, Roland. 1981. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. New York: Hill and Wang.
Beech, Dave. 2019. Art and Postcapitalism: Aesthetic Labour, Automation, and Value Production. London: Pluto Press.
Benanav, Aaron. 2022. Automation and the Future of Work. New York: Verso.
Benjamin, Walter. 2007 (1955). “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” In Walter Benjamin, Illuminations. New York: Schocken Books.
Braidotti, Rosi. 2013. The Posthuman. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Cole, Teju. 2016. Known and Strange Things. New York: Random House.
Dean, Jodi. 2025. Capital’s Grave: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle. New York: Verso.
Demos, T.J. 2013. Return to the Postcolony: Specters of Colonialism in Contemporary Art. Berlin: Sternberg Press.
Durand, Cédric. 2024. How Silicon Valley Unleashed Technofeudalism: The Making of the Digital Economy. New York: Verso.
Eder, Jens and Charlotte Klonk, eds. 2017. Image Operations: Visual Media and Political Conflict. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Elsaesser, Thomas, ed. 2021. Harun Farocki: Working on the Sight-Lines. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Groys, Boris. 2018. In the Flow. New York: Verso.
Halpern, Orit. 2014. Beautiful Data: A History of Vision and Reason since 1945. Durham: Duke University Press.
Harney, Stefano and Fred Moten. 2021. All Incomplete. New York: Minor Compositions.
MacLean, Ken. 2022. Crimes in Archival Form: Human Rights, Fact Production, and Myanmar. Berkeley: University of California Press.
McElroy, Erin. 2024. Silicon Valley Imperialism: Technofantasies and Frictions in Postsocialist Times. Durham: Duke University Press.
Mollona, Massimiliano. 2021. Art/Commons: Anthropology beyond Capitalism. London: Zed Books.
Paraica, Ana. 2019. The Age of Total Images: Disappearance of a Subjective Viewpoint in Post-Digital Photography. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures.
Sekula, Allan. 1975. “The Instrumental Image: Steichen at War.” Artforum.
Srnicek, Nick. 2026. Silicon Empires: The Fight for the Future of AI. London: Polity.
Steyerl, Hito. 2019. Duty Free Art: Art in the Age of Planetary Civil War. New York: Verso.
Stone, Naomi. 2017. “Living the Laughscream: Human Technology and Affective Maneuvers in the Iraq War.” Cultural Anthropology 32(1).
Strassler, Karen. 2020. Demanding Images: Democracy, Mediation, and the Image-Event in Indonesia. Durham: Duke University Press.
Toscano, Alberto and Jeff Kinkle. 2015. Cartographies of the Absolute. London: Zero Books.
Varoufakis, Yanis. 2024. Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. New York: Melville House.
Weizman, Eyal and Matthew Fuller. 2021. Investigative Aesthetics: Conflicts and Commons in the Politics of Truth. New York: Verso.
Wilcox, Lauren. 2017. “Embodying Algorithmic War: Gender, Race, and the Posthuman in Drone Warfare.” Security Dialogue 48(1): 11-28.
Wu, Chin-Tao. 2002. Privatising Culture: Corporate Art Intervention since the 1980s. Durham: Duke University Press.
Beech, Dave. 2019. Art and Postcapitalism: Aesthetic Labour, Automation, and Value Production. London: Pluto Press.
Benanav, Aaron. 2022. Automation and the Future of Work. New York: Verso.
Benjamin, Walter. 2007 (1955). “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” In Walter Benjamin, Illuminations. New York: Schocken Books.
Braidotti, Rosi. 2013. The Posthuman. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Cole, Teju. 2016. Known and Strange Things. New York: Random House.
Dean, Jodi. 2025. Capital’s Grave: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle. New York: Verso.
Demos, T.J. 2013. Return to the Postcolony: Specters of Colonialism in Contemporary Art. Berlin: Sternberg Press.
Durand, Cédric. 2024. How Silicon Valley Unleashed Technofeudalism: The Making of the Digital Economy. New York: Verso.
Eder, Jens and Charlotte Klonk, eds. 2017. Image Operations: Visual Media and Political Conflict. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Elsaesser, Thomas, ed. 2021. Harun Farocki: Working on the Sight-Lines. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Groys, Boris. 2018. In the Flow. New York: Verso.
Halpern, Orit. 2014. Beautiful Data: A History of Vision and Reason since 1945. Durham: Duke University Press.
Harney, Stefano and Fred Moten. 2021. All Incomplete. New York: Minor Compositions.
MacLean, Ken. 2022. Crimes in Archival Form: Human Rights, Fact Production, and Myanmar. Berkeley: University of California Press.
McElroy, Erin. 2024. Silicon Valley Imperialism: Technofantasies and Frictions in Postsocialist Times. Durham: Duke University Press.
Mollona, Massimiliano. 2021. Art/Commons: Anthropology beyond Capitalism. London: Zed Books.
Paraica, Ana. 2019. The Age of Total Images: Disappearance of a Subjective Viewpoint in Post-Digital Photography. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures.
Sekula, Allan. 1975. “The Instrumental Image: Steichen at War.” Artforum.
Srnicek, Nick. 2026. Silicon Empires: The Fight for the Future of AI. London: Polity.
Steyerl, Hito. 2019. Duty Free Art: Art in the Age of Planetary Civil War. New York: Verso.
Stone, Naomi. 2017. “Living the Laughscream: Human Technology and Affective Maneuvers in the Iraq War.” Cultural Anthropology 32(1).
Strassler, Karen. 2020. Demanding Images: Democracy, Mediation, and the Image-Event in Indonesia. Durham: Duke University Press.
Toscano, Alberto and Jeff Kinkle. 2015. Cartographies of the Absolute. London: Zero Books.
Varoufakis, Yanis. 2024. Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. New York: Melville House.
Weizman, Eyal and Matthew Fuller. 2021. Investigative Aesthetics: Conflicts and Commons in the Politics of Truth. New York: Verso.
Wilcox, Lauren. 2017. “Embodying Algorithmic War: Gender, Race, and the Posthuman in Drone Warfare.” Security Dialogue 48(1): 11-28.
Wu, Chin-Tao. 2002. Privatising Culture: Corporate Art Intervention since the 1980s. Durham: Duke University Press.
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Last modified: We 03.06.2026 16:07