Introduction: The Contemporary Relevance of Vilém Flusser

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Authors

In this article, we introduce Vilém Flusser’s theoretical trajectory from the philosophy of language and multilingualism to communication and media theory. Our focus lies on his works Kommunikologie [Communicology] and Kommunikologie weiter denken [Thinking Communicology Further]. Kommunikologie, which was written in Flusser’s mid-career in the 1970s, but only published in the 1990s, consists of a set of articles and lectures and offers, among other notions, a great distinction between dialogue and discourse. The article takes this differentiation and explains its advantages and limitations. This leads to the introduction of the concept of algorithmic mediation as a ‘communicological’ take on current media developments. This also allows us to return to Flusser’s question about the disappearing home and the need for windows to the world. We hence offer a combination of different aspects of his work less as a tool for the analysis of current developments than as a call for action.

Original languageEnglish
JournalTheory, Culture and Society
Volume40
Issue number7-8
Pages (from-to)57-72
Number of pages16
ISSN0263-2764
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12.2023
Externally publishedYes

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© The Author(s) 2023.