Internship Project
Musicology and Media Studies

Critical Media, Computing and Commoning

Institution
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Department of Musicology and Media Science
Subject Area
Critical Media Studies, Critical Coding, Philosophy, German Media Theory, Friedrich Kittler
Availability
05 May – 25 July
19 May – 08 August
02 June – 22 August
16 June – 05 September
 
Internship Modality:
On-site internship in Berlin

Applications for summer 2025 are closed.
This project is open to students from Brown University (Semester Internship Program in Berlin).
Project Supervisor(s)
Prof. Dr. Shintaro Miyazaki
Academic Level
Advanced undergraduate students (from second year) 
Master's students 
Ph.D. students 
Language
English; German (not mandatory)
Further Information
Project Type
Academic Research
Project Content
During this internship, you will have two options (combining is possible): Option A) In-depth reading and discussion on topics such as commoning, media theory, computing, German media studies, critical theory, poststructuralist philosophy, Deleuze/Guattari, New and Old Materialism, Science and Technology Studies, Marxism, Feminism, etc.
For instance: How computation became planetary, what is wrong with this, and how it still could benefit all inhabitants of Earth. We will go through a list of essential readings (in English or even German), discuss, visualize, map, and read more literature. This is adaptive to your reading pace and will result in a poster presentation or more. Option B) Critical coding: We delve into the world of agent-based models, which are frequently utilized within orthodox economics, where they are closely linked to unquestioned assumptions such as the belief that life and civilized liberal society ultimately revolve around self-interested individuals engaging in constant conflicts and that only a free market can effectively coordinate economics. Here, we want to speak and argue against these assumptions and want to code and program small, rather experimental, yet operative models, which simulate in small micro-worlds alternative theories of commoning and/or responsible social-ecological systems.
Tasks for Interns
  • Option A: Discuss, write summaries, reviews, and map selected literature.
  • Option B: Prototype, code, and program around 4-9 agent-based models in the programming language netlogo in collaboration with the project leader.
Academic Level
Advanced undergraduate students (from second year) 
Master's students 
Ph.D. students 
Requirements
  • Interest in critical theories, in commons and commoning
  • Interest in critical coding
Expected Preparation
  • Option A: Read Counter-Dancing Digitality: On Commoning and Computation,
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For more information on the Humboldt Internship Program or the project, please contact the program coordinator.