Assemblage in media studies is the intersection of human and digital involvement in the production of knowledge through mediated platforms. In both physical and theoretical planes, assemblage represents the various aspects of media and how they are arranged and organized in order to create meaning. By dissecting human and nonhuman parts of a whole, we are able to see the roles each part plays in spreading and categorizing information so that we view it as a concrete “thing” such as a tweet, post, or meme. In my group, we took a printed book and categorized the various human and non-human components that allow us to understand the whole. For example, we saw letters and chapters as a collective and communicative entity that intends to shape information, whereas the page itself is a machinic and physical representation of those theoretical entities with the intention in spreading information. While all the components contribute and are a sliver of the whole, categorizing the categories presented by the media allows us to physically see the different roles of each assemblage. This keyword expands on our understanding of conjoined agency as each machinic and collective aspect of a mediated platform have different capabilities and levels of agency.
2 thoughts on “Keyword #10: Assemblage”
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I also think there is a great need to look at the human and non-human aspects of assemblage and how agency plays a role in it because it helps us understand how much power we are giving technology. This is especially important when we are deciding what aspects of human life require technological interference. if we are not able to distinguish the role of humans and non-human in smaller things such as characters in a social media app it will be harder to track our relationship with this technology and how beneficial it is for us.
The phrasing and focus on “human and non-human” aspects of an assemblage is something I found really interesting. After reading this, I’m not sure this was something my group considered in this way. This then brings up other questions about the impacts of non-human entities or agents on human beings. As we discussed several weeks ago, Instagram’s algorithm recommends posts similar to those you interact with, which then creates questions of how greatly this shapes interests and identity. Because of this interaction, Instagram’s explore page as an assemblage is reflective of both the human account user and the app’s non-human algorithmic processes.