Mediaccions: Critical studies in culture, design and networked communication
Mediaccions, Critical Studies in Culture, Design, and Networked Communication, is an interdisciplinary group with a significant trajectory in research related to digital culture and the use of technologies in everyday life, with an emphasis on qualitative methodologies and an ethnographic approach. Our background in communication, design, and anthropology has led us to incorporate experimental and participatory research methods.
Our Priority Research Lines Are:
Imaginaries and Alternative Narratives on the Environmental Crisis and the Future
We are interested in how narratives are constructed across various fields and how new cultural imaginaries around the climate crisis can be created. We approach this from a citizen-centered perspective, uncovering narratives on social media, within activist circles, and across various grassroots communities in both the Global North and South. We explore concepts such as playful activism while examining alternative imaginaries and counter-narratives that challenge the modern dichotomy of nature/civilization.
Expanding the Margins of Design
We explore the disciplinary boundaries of design and its expansion into other fields of knowledge. We address the transformative dimension of design and shifts in its epistemological and methodological frameworks toward concepts such as Open Design (through citizen dialogue), critical design (e.g., dark patterns in technology), and future-oriented design processes. Epistemologically, we engage with the material agency of objects. We also connect design anthropology approaches with methods like Design Thinking, alongside other techniques involving co-creation and participation.
Critical Digital Culture and Artificial Intelligence
We study phenomena related to the use of technology by citizens, with a focus on empowerment through digital literacies. Currently, this includes exploring the use of artificial intelligence. One research line involves developing a methodology for the appropriation of generative AI by marginalized groups, focusing on the creation of alternative narratives. Another line investigates creative processes involving AI, aiming to analyze and compare these shifts in practice and to identify where we gain or lose in terms of learning and autonomy.Experimental and Participatory Research Methods
In recent years, we have practically applied our knowledge in participatory projects, developing methods and techniques to access data and narratives that are otherwise difficult to reach. We now aim to theorize this experience from an epistemological perspective under the concept of playful participatory methods, which combines play, narrative, and design. In practice, we also seek to identify imaginaries of nature through games, prototype game design based on co-created narratives, and experiment with modeling, visualization, and mapping in our current and future projects.
2021-SGR-01476