Open AccessThe User Reconfigured: On Subjectivities of Information
Author(s) -
Jeffrey Bardzell,
Shaowen Bardzell
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
aarhus series on human centered computing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2445-7221
DOI - 10.7146/aahcc.v1i1.21298
Subject(s) - subjectivity , class (philosophy) , agency (philosophy) , embodied cognition , construct (python library) , span (engineering) , sociology , computer science , epistemology , engineering , artificial intelligence , social science , philosophy , programming language , civil engineering
Foundational to HCI is the notion of “the user.” Whether a cognitive processor, social actor, consumer, or even a non- user, the user in HCI has always been as much a technical construct as actual people using systems. We explore an emerging formulation of the user—the subjectivity of in- formation —by laying out what it means and why research- ers are being drawn to it. We then use it to guide a case study of a relatively marginal use of computing—digitally mediated sexuality—to holistically explore design in rela- tion to embodiment, tactual experience, sociability, power, ideology, selfhood, and activism. We argue that subjectivi- ties of information clarifies the relationships between de- sign choices and embodied experiences, ways that designers design users and not just products, and ways to cultivate and transform, rather than merely support, human agency.