Aesthetics of Dispersed Attention
Interview with German Media Theorist Petra L=F6ffler
By Geert Lovink
When I met Petra L=F6ffler in the summer of 2012 in Weimar I was amazed =
to find out about her habilitation topic. She had just finished a study =
on the history of distraction from a German media theory perspective. =
After I read the manuscript (in German) we decided to do an email =
interview in English so that more people could find out about her =
research. The study will appear late 2013 (in German) with Diaphanes =
Verlag under the title =93Verteilte Aufmerksamkeit. Eine =
Mediengeschichte der Zerstreuung=94 (Distributed Attention, a Media =
History of Distraction). Since October 2011 Petra L=F6ffler has replaced =
Lorenz Engell as media philosophy professor at Bauhaus University in =
Weimar. Before this appointment she worked in Regensburg, Vienna and =
Siegen. Her main research areas are affect theory, media archaeology, =
early cinema, visual culture and digital archives.=20
With the hyper growth of internet, video, mobile phones, games, txt =
messaging, the new media debate gets narrowed down to this one question: =
what do you think of attention? The supposed decline in concentration =
and today=92s inability to read longer, complicated texts is starting to =
affect the future of research as such. Social media only make things =
worse. Human kind is, once again, on the way down hill, this time busy =
multitasking on their smart phones. Like any issue this one must have a =
genealogy too, but if we look at the current literature, from Bernard =
Stiegler to Nicolas Carr and Frank Schirrmacher, from Sherry Turkle to =
Franco Berardi, and Andrew Keen to Jaron Lanier, including my own =
contribution, the long view is entirely missing. Bernard Stiegler digs =
into Greek philosophy, yes, but also leaves out the historical media =
theory angle. This also counts for those who stress solutions such as =
training and abstinence (a field ranging from Peter Sloterdijk to Howard =
Rheingold). But can a contemporary critique of attention really do =
without proper historical foundations?
While the education sector and the IT industry promote the use of =
tablets in classrooms (with MOOCs as the most current hype), there is =
only a hand full of experts that warn against the long-term =
consequences. The absence of a serious discussion and policy then gives =
way to a range of popular myths. Quickly the debate gets polarized and =
any unease is reduced to generational issues and technophobia. Deceases =
amongst millions of computer workers vary from damaged eyesight, ADHD =
and related medication problems (Retalin), Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, RSI =
and bad postures due to badly designed peripherals, leading to =
widespread spinal disk problems. There is talk of mutations in the brain =
(see for instance the work of the German psychiatrist Manfred Spitzer). =
Within this worrying spread of postmodern deceases, who would talk about =
the =91healing effects of daydreaming=92? Petra L=F6ffler does, and she =
refers to Michel de Montaigne, who, already many centuries ago, =
recommended diversion as a comfort against suffering of the souls. Why =
can=92t we acknowledge the distribution of attention as an art form, a =
gift, in fact a high skill?=20
Geert Lovink: How did you come up with the idea to write the history of =
distraction? When you told me about your work and I read your =
habilitation (a major study in German speaking countries after your PhD =
if you want to become professor) it occurred to me how obvious this =
intellectual undertaken was from a media theory perspective=97and yet I =
wondered why it wasn=92t done before. Would you call its history a =
classic black spot? You didn=92t go along the institutional knowledge =
road a la Foucault, nor do you use the hermeneutical method, the =
Latourian history of science approach or mentality history, for that =
matter. How did you come up with your angle?
Petra L=F6ffler: That=92s a long story. Around 2000, with my colleague =
Albert K=FCmmel, I was working at an anthology about ephemeral =
discourses dealing with media dating back to the second half of the =
nineteenth century. We found a lot of interesting stuff in scientific =
journals from very different disciplines. Out of this rich material we =
developed a classification system consisting of discourse-relevant terms =
we found in the articles, and published a book representing our research =
results (Albert K=FCmmel and Petra L=F6ffler, Medientheorie 1888-1933, =
Texte und Kommentare, 2002). One of the topics was =91Aufmerksamkeit=92 =
(attention). Later I reviewed the material, much of it was unpublished, =
and came across a collection of related texts, which focussed on =
=91Zerstreuung=92 (distraction). Like you now, I then was wondering why, =
in media theory, a conceptualization of distraction was missing up to =
date, although important early theoreticians such as Siegfried Kracauer =
and
