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Philipp Budka

@philbu.bsky.social
180 followers 199 following 164 posts

sociocultural anthropologist infrastructure, tech, media, temporality, politics, ethnography currently @univie.ac.at www.philbu.net

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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Looking forward to presenting on #commoning #infrastructure in 🇨🇦 at "Digital Commons" conference in #Athens 🇬🇷: digicommons.org/programme/
Cover of report on infrastructural sovereignty in Churchill, Manitoba, by Philipp Budka (2025).
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InfraNorth: Building Arctic Futures @infranortherc.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
📢 #CfP: What questions, debates & directions are shaping infrastructure research? We invite empirical, conceptual & methodological contributions for our panel on #Infrastructures at #VANDA2027, 16-19 Feb 2027, @univie.ac.at. ⏰Deadline for submissions: 12 Oct 2026. 🔗 infranorth.eu/news/call-fo...
infranorth.eu
Call for Papers on “Infrastructures: Questions, Debates, and Directions” for VANDA 2027 - InfraNorth
We invite paper proposals for our panel “Infrastructures: Questions, Debates, and Directions” at the Vienna Anthropology Days (VANDA) 2027, hosted by the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology...
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Digital Ethnography Initiative (DEI) @deivienna.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
CfP panel "Digital Multimodality in Ethnographic Practice", VANDA conference (Febr. 16-19, Univ. of Vienna), with @monikapalmberger.bsky.social, Adnan Smajic & @suzanajovicic.bsky.social, discussion: @philbu.bsky.social. Submission until October 12: univie-vanda2027.eventsairsite.com/call-for-pap...
univie-vanda2027.eventsairsite.com
Call for Papers
We are pleased to announce the Call for Papers for VANDA 2027, open until 12 October 2026.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
New @nationalobserver.com piece by J. Voyles on the Hudson Bay Railway as an #Arctic gateway, featuring an interview with me. Article: www.nationalobserver.com/2026/08/21/n... My open-access research: cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/an...
nationalobserver.com
As Canada bets on Churchill to diversify trade away from US, climate disasters sideline its railway link
Less Arctic sea ice could mean more ship traffic at the Port of Churchill. But climate-related disruptions are making the railway that serves the port vulnerable to disruptions.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Looking forward to presenting at the “Knowing – #AI” conference at Uni of Tübingen. My paper, “From #Cybernetics to AI: Knowing & Learning in the #Anthropology of the Contemporary,” asks what anthropology’s longer engagement with knowing & learning can tell us about AI today. tinyurl.com/4wv9n9k9
Poster of "Knowing - AI" conference.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Looking forward to presenting & discussing my paper "Infrastructural #Sovereignty: Community #Infrastructures & #Futures in Remote #Canada" online @easainfo.bsky.social conference in Poznań, 🇵🇱.
Street sign in Churchill, MB, Canada. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Palm House, Schönbrunn Palace Gardens, #Vienna www.schoenbrunn.at/en/about-sch...
Palm House, Schönbrunn Palace Gardens, Vienna. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
15 years ago, I wrote the paper "From cyber to digital #anthropology to an anthropology of the contemporary?" for EASA Media Anthro Network: easaonline.org/event/38-fro... Tomorrow, I will revisit it for lecture on #cybernetics & #AI @ Univ. Milano-Bicocca: www.formazione.unimib.it/en/events/cy...
easaonline.org
38. From cyber to digital anthropology to an anthropology of the contemporary?
Paper: Philipp Budka (University of Vienna) Comments: Alexander Knorr (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich)
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
"Usage rights have expired." Hietzing cemetery, #Vienna.
Hietzing cemetery, Vienna. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The Wien Museum, #Vienna. www.wienmuseum.at/about_us
Wien Museum. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
On 16 June, I'll be speaking at Uni Milano-Bicocca about #cybernetics, #AI & #mediation from an anthropological perspective. Drawing on Indigenous internet in Ontario 🇨🇦, the talk situates AI within longer histories of communication & technological change. Online: unimib.webex.com/meet/paolo.g...
Flyer for guest lecture of Philipp Budka at University Milano-Bicocca, June 2026.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Following an @erc.europa.eu article on @infranortherc.bsky.social, here are key findings: #Arctic #transport infrastructures shape local livelihoods, governance & socio‑political relations, enabling opportunities & generating intended & unintended consequences. cordis.europa.eu/article/id/4...
Port of Churchill, Canada. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Coming in Sept 2026: "Theorising Media & Time," ed. by B. Bräuchler & N. Mollerup: www.berghahnbooks.com/title/Braeuc... My chapter argues that archival research is a powerful complement to #ethnography, especially for tracing sociotechnical histories over time.
Cover "Theorising Media and Time "
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
In June 2025, I gave a keynote on community-led digital #sovereignty @ IDSF in Vienna. As the report focuses on panels, I’ve shared key takeaways from my talk here: www.philbu.net/blog/communi...
philbu.net
Community-Led Digital Sovereignty: Key Takeaways From A Keynote in 2025 – Philbu's Blog
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Digital Ethnography Initiative (DEI) @deivienna.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
What does it mean to “be there” in ethnographic research when #fieldwork is increasingly digital, distributed & asynchronous? In this new post, T. Ahlin revisits the concept of digital field events & reflects on presence, temporality & ethnographic engagement: digitalethnography.at/being-there-...
digitalethnography.at
Being There, Being Then, Being Present in Digital Field Events
Tanja Ahlin*When I first introduced the notion of "field events" with my co-author Fangfang Li (Ahlin and Li 2019), digital technologies were becoming more common in ethnographic fieldwork, b
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Dr. Seuss's debut manuscript: after +20 rejections, ready to burn it. Chance encounter → publication & career launch. #Anthropology lens: Rejection as persistence entangled with serendipity—iteratively honing manuscripts & grants via successive refusals that sharpen output & reflexivity.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
It is currently very short, but it will be expanded over the coming weeks and months—happy to share then.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
How is #sovereignty enacted through #infrastructure in everyday life? I’ll be presenting on this at the #STS Conference Graz (May 4, 2026), drawing on ethnographic research with First Nations & northern communities in #Canada. stsconf.tugraz.at
Logo STS Conference Graz 2026.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
How can #infrastructure planning address complex social, cultural & environmental #change in remote regions? New article in Futures: Multi-scale scenario building for community development (transportation in Circumpolar North) doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...
Screenshot of Futures article.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Excited to speak in the Seoul National University BK lecture series (organized by O. Fedorenko)! ➡️ "Remembering Indigenous Digital Worlds" ➡️ April 17, 2026 — 6:30 PM (Seoul) / 11:30 AM (CET) ➡️ Online via Zoom: snu-ac-kr.zoom.us/j/84642192976
Flyer for guest lecture of Philipp Budka at SNU.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Looking forward to the discussion tomorrow! A great chance to explore creative #digital practices in #Cuba — join if you haven’t registered yet: easaonline.org/event/book-d...
easaonline.org
Book Discussion: Steffen Köhn’s “Island in the Net. Digital Culture in Cuba (2026)”
Please remember: April 8, noon CET – online book discussion with the author, Steffen Köhn, and the discussants, Eva Van Roekel and Philipp Budka. It is with great pleasure that we announce the first b...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
What is an #archive? Outcomes of the "Thinking Archives Ethnographically" field school @univie.ac.at are now released on Phaidra, the uni's digital repository. 21 students explored museums, exhibits & bar toilets—finding archives in carpets, stickers, videos. phaidra.univie.ac.at/detail/o:231...
Phaidra screenshot.
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MIT Technology Review @technologyreview.com · 01/04/2026
People in Nigeria and India are strapping iPhones onto their heads and recording themselves doing chores.
technologyreview.com
The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home
People in Nigeria and India are strapping iPhones onto their heads and recording themselves doing chores.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Excited to join @easainfo.bsky.social Media #Anthropology Network's discussion of S. Köhn’s book "Island in the Net" (2026) as one of the discussants. Looking forward to talking about Cuba’s creative digital practices! Registration for this online event: easaonline.org/event/book-d...
Poster of book discussion event.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
In case you missed it: I co-edited the @anthropologica.bsky.social special issue "Narratives & Temporalities of #Infrastructure". The collection examines how infrastructures are narrated, lived & reimagined across time & place in the Canadian context. cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/an...
Anthropologica (67, 1) cover. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Today is the 2nd session of the seminar "Digital Visual Culture" @univie.ac.at. Students will continue designing their ethnographic projects, focusing on research questions, methods & fieldwork plans. ufind.univie.ac.at/en/course.ht...
ufind.univie.ac.at
u:find - 240532 SE MM3 Digital Visual Culture: Practices, Images, and Popular Media (2026S)
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
My review of "Sustainable Energy Transitions in #Canada" (ed. M. S. Winfield, S. D. Hill & J. R. Gaede) is now out in "Zeitschrift für Kanada-Studien." I discuss the book’s interdisciplinary perspective on energy transitions in Canada: www.philbu.net/blog/review-... #energy #transitions #policy
Cover of Sustainable Energy Transitions in Canada (2023, UBC Press).
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Looking forward to teaching the course "Digital Visual Culture" @univie.ac.at! We'll dive into digital visual practices across #memes, #influencers & viral #visuals through ethnographic projects. Details: ufind.univie.ac.at/en/course.ht...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
New on the Digital Ethnography Initiative (DEI) blog: a post exploring how Disney’s Evil Queen circulates on Facebook & how platform culture shapes gendered power imagery online: digitalethnography.at/facebooks-ev...
The Queen. Sketch by Kamilla Peter.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
The call for this conference has been extended until March 1: digicommons.org/call-for-pap... #digital #commons #infrastructure #design #ethics
digicommons.org
Call for papers
Digital Commons: Infrastructures, Design, and the Ethics of Autonomy Call for Papers and PanelsCo-organized by the Department of Social Anthropology, Panteion University & the Institute of Infor...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Probably the last snow in #Vienna this winter.
Snow-covered Vienna. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
"A growing number people have figured out a trick to make #AI tools tell you almost whatever they want. It's so easy a child could do it." www.bbc.com/future/artic...
bbc.com
I hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI – and it only took 20 minutes
I found a way to make AI tell you lies – and I'm not the only one.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Technology alone does not build trust. #Radio broadcasters do. www.unesco.org/en/days/worl...
unesco.org
World Radio Day 2026
13 February
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
It’s an on-site event only, but I hope to have that paper out soon and will share it here once it’s published.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Good question - I will check with the organizers.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
I am very much looking forward to my talk on community #infrastructures in remote #Canada 🇨🇦 tomorrow at the Department of Social #Anthropology @manchester.ac.uk. infranorth.eu/news/feb-202...
Northern Manitoba. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
The 5th & final article of this special issue by Schmid examines how #Amazon reconfigures everyday life & traditional systems in the remote North. doi.org/10.1177/0891...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
The 4th article by Povoroznyuk looks into relationship between mega-infrastructures & #Arctic coastlines, economies, & geopolitics across scales. doi.org/10.1177/0891...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
The 3rd contribution by Freddi et al. explores #road construction vs. conservation, & #environment as infrastructure. doi.org/10.1177/0891...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
The 2nd article by Meyer et al. discusses #Arctic #airports as ambivalent nodes connecting remote communities amid access, control & environmental tensions. doi.org/10.1177/0891...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
The 1st research article by Schweitzer et al. explores infrastructural #futures produced/contested in the #Arctic. doi.org/10.1177/0891...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
The introduction of the special issue by Schweitzer et al. frames #infrastructure in lived experience, power relations & future-oriented imaginaries. doi.org/10.1177/0891...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
The "Linke Wienzeile Buildings" are two apartment buildings in #Vienna constructed by Otto Wagner in 1898-99. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linke_W...
Linke Wienzeile Buildings, Vienna. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
New special issue: "Ethnographies of Infrastructure," ed. by me, P. Schweitzer & O. Povoroznyuk, in JCE. It explores #infrastructure (& its futures) as social phenomenon, spanning the #Arctic & beyond: ports, roads, supply chains & environmental conflict. journals.sagepub.com/toc/jcec/55/1
JCE cover.
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InfraNorth: Building Arctic Futures @infranortherc.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
🗓️ Feb 9: #InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka will give a talk titled “Sovereignty by Design: Community #Infrastructures in Remote Canada” as part of the seminar series of the Department of Social #Anthropology at the University of Manchester. @philbu.bsky.social @uomsoss.bsky.social
infranorth.eu
Feb 9, 2026: Talk by Philipp Budka at the University of Manchester’s Social Anthropology Seminar Series - InfraNorth
On Monday, February 9, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm (GMT), InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka will deliver a guest talk as part of the seminar series of the Department of Social Anthropology at the Uni...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
"Denn Intoleranz und Angst sind identische Begriffe." Erich Kästner, 1926 This translates to: "Because intolerance and fear are identical concepts." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_K...
en.wikipedia.org
Erich Kästner - Wikipedia
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InfraNorth: Building Arctic Futures @infranortherc.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
❓ What can scenario workshops offer to the #anthropology of #infrastructure that other ethnographic methods might not? This #openaccess article by Schweitzer et al. in 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 reflects on #InfraNorth scenario workshops in #Kirkenes & #Churchill 👇 @journals.sagepub.com
infranorth.eu
Dec 2025: Article by Peter Schweitzer, et al. in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography - InfraNorth
The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography has recently published the article “Scenarios and Ethnography: Infrastructural Futures as Windows into the Present” by Peter Schweitzer, Olga Povoroznyuk, Phili...
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
In 2017, floods severed Churchill's (Manitoba 🇨🇦) #rail link. Residents seized infrastructural #sovereignty, with Indigenous & northern communities now co-owning this vital #transport corridor. A rare case of local control over Subarctic & #Arctic #infrastructure. More: doi.org/10.18357/ant...
Churchill from a helicopter; the Port of Churchill and its grain elevators in the back. Photo by Philipp Budka.
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Qualitative researchers’ #AI rejection is based on identity, not reason: www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/qual...
timeshighereducation.com
Qualitative researchers’ AI rejection is based on identity, not reason
The claim that AI can’t make meaning contradicts what researchers are finding when they put these tools to careful, critical use, says James Goh
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Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
My second co-edited volume, "Theorising Media & Conflict" (2020, with B. Bräuchler), is currently on sale. Drawing on global case studies, it explores how #media & #conflict mutually shape one another & establishes their interplay as a distinct field of study. www.berghahnbooks.com/title/BudkaT...
berghahnbooks.com
Theorising Media and Conflict | Berghahn Books
Independent Publishing since 1994
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