Background and Learning Objective: 

Physical and social realities are increasingly translated into digital data. Movements, interactions, work processes, bodily functions, location changes, communication behavior, or machine states are captured, formalized through sensors,enterprise systems, wearables, apps, and AI applications and made processable via digital platforms.

This gives rise to datafied realities: realms in which aspects of the physical, social, and organizational world become available as digital representations. However, these datafied realities are not neutral mirrors of reality. They are digital artifacts shaped by technical architectures, data models, measurement logics, interfaces, access rights, organizational routines, and personal usage practices.

What becomes visible, what remains invisible, which categories are used, what quality is attributed to data, and who is allowed to use it for which purposes are all outcomes of continuous negotiation. This seminar focuses on these negotiations. It is not only concerned with how data is interpreted, but with how datafied realities emerge, become stabilized, are used, and are transformed. Students may investigate either organizational contexts or private everyday contexts:
      • At the organizational level, topics may include data access between departments, the governance of dashboards, responsibilities for data quality, or the legitimation of data-driven decisions.
      • At the individual level, students may examine how people engage with wearables, smart home systems, location data, AI assistants, platforms, or the digital traces of their everyday lives; whom they grant access to their data; which data they trust; and when provenance, context, or traceability             become relevant.

Key concepts include Data Democratization, Data Provenance, and Data Diplomacy: that is, questions of who may make data accessible and use it, when and how origin, transformation, and responsibility remain traceable, and how different stakeholders negotiate control, value, risks, and the legitimate use of data-based representations.

Within this seminar, students develop their own research topic around concrete situations of negotiation. They will examine how physical, social, or personal realities are translated into data and how questions of provenance, access, trust, use, or responsibility are subsequently negotiated. To do so, students will conduct 3–5 semi-structured interviews.

The aim is to empirically investigate how datafied realities emerge in concrete contexts, how they are shaped through negotiations, and how digital artifacts, individual practices, organizational routines, and power relations change as a result. The seminar invites students to view data not only as a resource or representation, but as a negotiable foundation of digital order, coordination, and governance.
 

Administrative Details: 

The seminar consists of an individual assessment divided into two parts: 

• Written seminar paper (14 pages of text): ⅔ of the grade
• Oral presentation of the paper (15 min), Q&A, and participation in discussions during other presentations: ⅓ of the grade 

The language of the seminar papers, presentations, and discussions is English. 

The official start date of the seminar is October 14. The seminar will be conducted in a block format and includes a total of six sessions spread throughout the semester. Please refer to the schedule in UniVis for specific dates. 

Application Procedure: 

To apply, please fill out the form below by October 12 at 10 am. Notifications regarding acceptance will be sent on October 12 (afternoon). A binding confirmation of your participation in the seminar is required by October 13 at 12 pm. Otherwise, your spot will be offered to others on the waiting list.