The critical concern of the workshop “Utopia Computer” is the euphoria, expectation and hope insp... more The critical concern of the workshop “Utopia Computer” is the euphoria, expectation and hope inspired by the introduction of computers within architecture in the early digital age. With the advent of the personal computer and the launch of the Internet in the 1990s, utopian ideals found in architectural discourse from the 1960s were revisited and adjusted to the specific characteristics of digital media.
Between the 1940s and the 1970s, the ‘achievement principle’ was intensely researched and theoris... more Between the 1940s and the 1970s, the ‘achievement principle’ was intensely researched and theorised within a frame of Western rationalisation and of Western-driven notions of global progress especially in economics and the social sciences. In the first decades of this century, achievement orientation and meritocratic thinking have begun to attract research once more, this time across a wider disciplinary spectrum, but again, with an implicit focus on the global north-west.Achievement-orientation and its manifestation in meritocratic principles is a powerful aspect in cultural narratives across the globe that impacts on social and individual lives in multiple ways. It is present in African societies and in communities across the African diaspora. This collection of short essays seeks to initiate a conversation that can help generate a better understanding of the ways in which achievement and merit are defined, negotiated, represented and embedded, and of the connotations they carry in African contexts, among African social groups and strata, and in communities across the African diaspora, especially in Europe. The collection thus aims to draw attention to the existence of a diversity of concepts of achievement prevalent in these contexts and to embark on explorations into the question of their relations.
This paper focuses on the sonic dimension of Afrofuturist artefacts, building on contemporary the... more This paper focuses on the sonic dimension of Afrofuturist artefacts, building on contemporary theory pertaining to the speculative and aesthetic potential of Black Sound. The proposed case study focuses on a key performance held in West Africa by Ghanaian artist and composer Steloolive. The musical act is discussed with regard to the artistic media featured, as well as the strategies employed on stage, adding to the complexity of this contemporary genre. Moreover, special attention is paid to historical and contemporary references, as well as the transposal of sound into matter in the way the artist experiments with sound production and fashion statements. From the artist’s choice of attire to stage set-up and, eventually, to soundscape—performances of the kind Steloolive engages in are relevant to the discussion as they contribute to the widening of the Afrofuturist imaginary beyond the material and to the understanding of technological development as encompassing medium and genre.
The critical concern of the workshop “Utopia Computer” is the euphoria, expectation and hope insp... more The critical concern of the workshop “Utopia Computer” is the euphoria, expectation and hope inspired by the introduction of computers within architecture in the early digital age. With the advent of the personal computer and the launch of the Internet in the 1990s, utopian ideals found in architectural discourse from the 1960s were revisited and adjusted to the specific characteristics of digital media.
Between the 1940s and the 1970s, the ‘achievement principle’ was intensely researched and theoris... more Between the 1940s and the 1970s, the ‘achievement principle’ was intensely researched and theorised within a frame of Western rationalisation and of Western-driven notions of global progress especially in economics and the social sciences. In the first decades of this century, achievement orientation and meritocratic thinking have begun to attract research once more, this time across a wider disciplinary spectrum, but again, with an implicit focus on the global north-west.Achievement-orientation and its manifestation in meritocratic principles is a powerful aspect in cultural narratives across the globe that impacts on social and individual lives in multiple ways. It is present in African societies and in communities across the African diaspora. This collection of short essays seeks to initiate a conversation that can help generate a better understanding of the ways in which achievement and merit are defined, negotiated, represented and embedded, and of the connotations they carry in African contexts, among African social groups and strata, and in communities across the African diaspora, especially in Europe. The collection thus aims to draw attention to the existence of a diversity of concepts of achievement prevalent in these contexts and to embark on explorations into the question of their relations.
This paper focuses on the sonic dimension of Afrofuturist artefacts, building on contemporary the... more This paper focuses on the sonic dimension of Afrofuturist artefacts, building on contemporary theory pertaining to the speculative and aesthetic potential of Black Sound. The proposed case study focuses on a key performance held in West Africa by Ghanaian artist and composer Steloolive. The musical act is discussed with regard to the artistic media featured, as well as the strategies employed on stage, adding to the complexity of this contemporary genre. Moreover, special attention is paid to historical and contemporary references, as well as the transposal of sound into matter in the way the artist experiments with sound production and fashion statements. From the artist’s choice of attire to stage set-up and, eventually, to soundscape—performances of the kind Steloolive engages in are relevant to the discussion as they contribute to the widening of the Afrofuturist imaginary beyond the material and to the understanding of technological development as encompassing medium and genre.
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