A seminar taught by Julia Kloiber & Elisa Lindinger as part of the School of Disobedience at Volksbühne Berlin. Many mainstream narratives of technology suggest that humanity is dominated by digital systems. Systems that do not work for the people but destroy democracies, undermine human rights and turn citizens into obedient consumers. We are under constant digital surveillance and our data and social graphs are being sold to the highest bidder. What happens when centralized systems dominate our actions? What if autocrat regimes and tech governance converge? How can people stay independent and act in the digital sphere? What are the tools out there to organize and connect communities? From Hong Kong, to Sudan and Venezuela – Movements and communities across the globe have tried to answer these questions. They have experimented with digital tools for disobedience and developed strategies that help them fight oppression and regain their freedom. The goal of this course is to get an overview over past and present examples of how technology was used for civic disobedience. We will invite international guest speakers and get insights into their practice. In the second part of the course will work on speculative futures and come up with new tools and concepts.
