FIBER Festival

Media history should not look at the last centuries, but should go back to the beginning of the earth. In his book ‘A Geology of Media’, Jussi Parikka looks at the material realities that preceed media themselves.

Jussi Parikka exposes how our contemporary media are intrinsically linked to Earth’s history and geological formations, and how they shape the physical world irreversibly. From the bits of Asia and Africa in our smartphones to the new geological layer of satellites circling above our head, media culture is deeply connected to our environment.

Jussi Parikka is professor at the Winchester School of Art (University of Southampton) and lecturer at the University of Turku. His research ranges from network culture to the archaeological roots of contemporary research. His latest book ‘A Geology of Media’ is the last part in a trilogy of books on media ecology, that started with ‘Digital Contagions’ (2007) and the award-winning ‘Insect Media’ (2010).