Wenn Technologien ausgrenzen - When technologies exclude

Oct 16, 2025

This afternoon, the first session of my seminar at Technische Universität Dortmund will take place!

The title of the seminar is “Wenn Technologien ausgrenzen. Mensch-Technologie-Interaktionen ethnographisch erforschen” [When technologies exclude. Conducting ethnographic research on human-technology interactions], and there are two main things I would like the students to take away from it:

The first one is that access to technologies is not equally distributed, but that people have an unequal share in the advantages and disadvantages of technologies based on their intersecting personal characteristics. Social inequalities influence digital inequalities, which in turn reinforce social inequalities. At the same time, technologies can be incredibly helpful in providing access for people experiencing disadvantages, such as in the case of assistive technologies.

The second key take-away is an understanding of ethnographic methods which we will approach both theoretically and through practical exercises. One of the planned activities I am currently most excited about is a research exercise in which students will explore their own privileges and constraints in their use of a specific technology. I cannot wait to try it out with them, and might even write a little separate blog post on it!