Arguably, the genealogy of the term postdigital rests on the inseparability of the digital and the analogue, that the concept that the digital and analogue are intertwined as one inseparable entity, and that the digital will only be noticed by its absence, not its presence. In this talk I will explore the tensions inherent in these claims, arguing that the digital is theorised as ubiquitous and also occluded from direct view; resulting in the postdigital, in which the digital as a presence seems to be imagined as an entity outside of direct perception. Interrogating the concept of being intertwined and the nature of twine, I will argue that this commonly-used metaphor is in fact flawed, and does not provide sufficient theoretical purchase on the nature of the relationship
between the digital and analogue. I consider the concept of the network and the meshwork, arguing that neither of these concepts are adequate when seeking to capture the nature of the more-than-digital in the university. I argue for the importance of ephemerality, seclusion and copresence as fundamental elements of being and entanglement in the university; aspects of which have hitherto been neglected in theories of the postdigital. I conclude by proposing the concept of fugitive practices.

This seminar is part of the FAST45 SEMINAR SERIES: PEDAGOGICAL LIFE AND THE DIGITAL UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS. The series explores particular forms and aspects of pedagogical life that may inform or instruct our imagination on the concept of the learning platform. As a contemporary pedagogical form that connects physical and virtual learning communities, the learning platform is increasingly being aligned with corporate training and workplace learning models. In this seminar series we want to expand on these tensions, towards an open discussion on other possibilities within technological forms of education.

The programme will be run through the FAST45 Learning Platform over 7 x 1.5 hr sessions. Each session will be led by a key thinker on education and technology. As suggested by Roland Barthes, the seminar is an open-ended, relational space that connects ‘institution, transference, and text’. In the spirit of Barthes seminar, we ask that participants attend each session of the series in order to commit to this relational dynamic and partake in an ongoing dialogue.