Thesis outline

standing version for Thesis Graduate Seminar on date 2016_10_26

Starting with some necessary contextual definitions, the thesis will inform the relation between contributive economies and agonism. The first nodal point of contributive economies will rely on threads developped by Stiegler and Ars Industrialis which put capitalism and contributive economies in perspective with skill, craftsmanship and production. The secondary comparison point of agonism calls in other political and philosophical research threads (these ones relying on Chantal Mouffe's research) that currently culminate in theoretical frames to understand modern designs under the lens of Adverserial Design.

Both of these hubs will be initial chapters of the thesis, to which a section on modes of address will be added. Then the question of the interdependance of each for the creation of a stable and healthy digital ecology will be analised.

My intention is to provide appropriate context to better understand certain contemporary movement in digital services that seem to focus mainly on efficiency as an attribute. This risks the further diminishing the cultural relevance and importance of digital practices and crafts, blurring all the lines between service and production.