The Aesthetics of Control: Productivity and the Order of Things

Let’s delve into the brave new world of algorithmic management, where the quantified self is empowered to finally take control of his or her own life. Or is it, perhaps, only the illusion of control that our tools and technologies for productivity boosting and self-improvement create? In this workshop we are going to explore popular productivity tools, apps and technologies. Our focus will be on the aesthetics of control employed by these instruments and how they use specific traditions of software / "User Experience" design and psychology to convey a feeling of control for the precarious knowledge worker.

Those joining this workshop should try to adopt a time management system for a week or more before the event, and come along to talk about it. It could be an app or a self-help book. There are lots of examples.

The Aesthetics of Control: Productivity and the Order of Things is a workshop by Melissa Greg, with Sebastian Olma & Michel van Dartel

Featuring
Melissa Gregg
Sebastian Olma 
Michel van Dartel 

Melissa Gregg
Melissa Gregg is an experienced ethnographer and a Principal Engineer at Intel Corporation researching the future of work, where her role is to translate strategic insights on the nature of enterprise and employment to business outcomes and opportunities. Melissa’s recent research tracks the rise of the personal enterprise – a world in which individuals take responsibility for their life’s work with the assistance of technical infrastructure. Her books include The Affect Theory Reader (co-edited with Gregory J. Seigworth, Duke 2010), Cultural Studies’ Affective Voices (Palgrave 2006) and Work’s Intimacy (Polity 2011). This workshop shares research from her latest book, Counterproductive: A Brief History of Time Management (Duke UP). She blogs at http://homecookedtheory.com/.

Centre of Art & Design
This is a private workshop for students of the Centre of Art & Design of  Avans University of Applied Science.