Our geek project is progressing although we, like many researchers, have had to adapt to the new normality of the Corona pandemic. For instance, our planned face-to-face interviews are now happening online and our ethnographic work is not possible right … Continued
The first strand of our research uses films as a window into contemporary geekdom. We started by watching lots of movies that feature technology to get an overview of their characters, images and storylines. Now we have to focus on … Continued
Responses to the Corona Virus are seeing massive government interventions – bailing out and nationalising vital industries like air and rail travel and requisitioning empty houses and hotels to provide homes for all, among other things. There are calls across … Continued
As the project name signals, the notion of “gatekeeping” is important to our project. Who is allowed into the geek community and who is locked out? But how does geek gatekeeping actually work? Andreas Ottemo here reflects on this issue, … Continued
There is always a risk of trying to deconstruct something when you’re not an expert yourself. It is even more dangerous, when the same object is something beloved and cherished around the world. Nonetheless, in this post Maria Berge will … Continued
Vi har i vårt projekt ”Nörden som grindvakt?” valt att använda begreppet nörd när vi pratar och skriver på svenska, vilket kan översättas till både geek, nerd och dork – och kanske ännu fler saker på engelska. Men varifrån kommer … Continued
The first phase of our research looks at geeks and technology in cinema. We naively expected to be focusing on films mixing creative, entrepreneurial and illicit uses of computers and related tech. But the most common technologies in the movies … Continued
Having just finished reading Jason Tocci’s 400+ page thesis from 2009, this is the question that still lingers with Andreas Ottemo. In this post he outlines and critiques Tocci’s attempt to elaborate the shape of geekdom in the early 2000s … Continued
Project leader Eva has interviewed two groups of 18-19 years olds about technology and geekiness. She asked what these things mean to them and showed clips from Avengers Age of Ultron, Men in Black, The Social Network and Black Panther … Continued
Q: Who was the first electric detective? A: Sherlock Ohms Get it? This joke’s humour relies on physics knowledge (that Ohm’s law describes a fundamental relationship between electric current and potential difference). Did you laugh? Physicists have a certain kind … Continued