Agenda
Infrastructure Humanities is an agenda that enhances and broadens the scope of mobility humanities research, developed over the past seven years by the Academy of Mobility Humanities (AMH) at Konkuk University.
Based on an awareness of the multi-scale crisis propelled by mobility infrastructure innovation, that is, the critical thinking about the era of infrastructure-induced polycrisis, it initiates thinking about infrastructures as (im)material actants that shape and condition mobilities. Specifically, Infrastructure Humanities recognizes infrastructure as the essential determinant of human existence and a vital object of study for understanding humanity. Accordingly, it aims at executing the following three-fold objectives:
First, Infrastructure Humanities realizes ‘an infrastructural turn in humanities,’ which reorients the field’s focus from the humanistic towards the (im)material infrastructure that makes human life possible. The infrastructural turn in humanities challenges us to reconsider infrastructure not as an external means or methods to human existence, but rather as an actant that constitutes human lives internally.
Second, Infrastructure Humanities seeks to establish an international research model for infrastructure studies, building a global collaborative research platform from the humanities perspective. This research program facilitates cooperation and mutual exchanges at the grassroots level, both locally and globally, which is essential for addressing the infrastructure-induced polycrisis.
Third, Infrastructure Humanities fosters the next generation of scholars and develops a model for the social dissemination of research outcomes. It supports earlier-career researchers, institutionalizs a postgraduate-level educational program, and runs programs for civil education, managed by the Humanities Education Center, ensuring the sustainability of research and empowering citizens to address the polycrisis.
Subagenda
Infrastructure Humanities designs interconnected research strands to approach to infrastructures as assemblages.
- Text studies broaden the meaning of infrastructure by studying its cultural representations as mediated by cultural artifacts based on an extended understanding of text.
- Ethos studies establish ethical frameworks to address inequality in access to and use of urban/digital infrastructure by examining the ‘becoming’ of (im)material infrastructure, with a focus on normative dimensions.
- Hyperobject studies examine the ontological expansion of infrastructure, thereby exploring the potential of hyperobjects as forms of infrastructure, such as big data and planets.
The Infrastructure Humanities Academy
The Infrastructure Humanities Academy serves as a practical pathway for collaborative research. It consists of three main activities:
- IH Insight: An intergenerational collaborative research program designed to foster joint research within subprojects and to cultivate the next generation of scholars. Activities include group meetings, seminars, and mentoring.
- IH Interlink: An interdisciplinary collaborative research program that promotes joint research across subprojects. Activities include colloquia, workshops, and regular presentation sessions.
- IH Resonance: An international collaborative research program in which all researchers work together to produce world-class research outcomes. Activities include forums, project meetings, and co-publications in overseas academic journals.
HK Um-Project
The HK Um-Project is a life-cycle training initiative designed to nurture talent that will carry forward the research outcomes of the Infrastructure Humanities agenda and prepare for the advancement of international collaborative research.
Tium (for Undergraduate level) - Develop potential capabilities through the operation of liberal arts courses.
- Support for Infrastructure Humanities study groups.
- Calls for submissions of Infrastructure Humanities essays and UCCs.
Dodum (for Graduate level)- Conduct short-term research projects through Global Research activities.
- Host the Next-Generation Infrastructure Humanities Forum.
- Operate the Convergence Department of Humanities and Mobility Studies in Graduate School.
Chaeum (for HK Research Professors)- Conduct joint research with overseas scholars through Global Frontier activities.
- Support interdisciplinary collaborative research through the Book-dodum program.
Saeum (for HK Professors)- Support the development of international collaborative projects through Global Interact initiatives.
Living Lab
A Living Lab refers to an innovation platform in which infrastructure users (citizens) take the lead in real-life contexts. Rooted in the awareness that innovative solutions to today’s infrastructure problems can only emerge from the experiences and knowledge of citizens, the actual users of infrastructure, the Living Lab aims to provide citizens with hands-on experiences in solving the problems they encounter in daily life, while at the same time achieving sustainable innovation through these efforts.
A Living Lab derives solutions through processes such as recruiting citizen researchers, hosting special lectures, providing training, conducting research, holding discussions, and presenting outcomes. Based on ideas that prove feasible for real-world application, collaborative systems with businesses, institutions, and local governments will be established.