Handshake 302

  Legibility is one of the myths of the modern, rational city. We like to think that every object has the same meaning for each of us, across space and time, despite memory and desire, in high end shopping malls and low rent districts. However, everyday encounters on the subway, in a classroom, or at the dinner table teach us differently; objects only are as meaningful as the stories we tell, which is to say, what we see reflects how well we have learned to listen. In “Electronic Lifestyles,” Handshake 302 curates a collection of stories about how technology shapes everyday life via the electronic objects that organize work and leisure in the “Silicon Valley of Hardware.” We begin by making visible the ruptures between different visions of technology. We aim to foreground the ways in which narrative and the arts of rhetoric and listening frame our interpretation of what is seen. We hope to contribute to more interesting conversations about the possibilities inherent to electronic lifestyles.

Team Members: Mary Ann O‘DONNELL, ZHANG Kaiqin, WU Dan, LEI Sheng, LIU He