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The Lab Book: Situated Practices in Media Studies
An important new approach to the study of laboratories, presenting a practical method for understanding labs in all walks of life
From the “Big Science” of Bell Laboratories to the esoteric world of séance chambers to university media labs to neighborhood makerspaces, places we call “labs” are everywhere—but how exactly do we account for the wide variety of ways that they produce knowledge? More than imitations of science and engineering labs, many contemporary labs are hybrid forms that require a new methodological and theoretical toolkit to describe. The Lab Book investigates these vital, creative spaces, presenting readers with the concept of the “hybrid lab” and offering an extended—and rare—critical investigation of how labs have proliferated throughout culture. Organized by interpretive categories such as space, infrastructure, and imaginaries, The Lab Book uses both historical and contemporary examples to show how laboratories have become fundamentally connected to changes in the contemporary university. Its wide reach includes institutions like the MIT Media Lab, the Tuskegee Institute’s Jesup Wagon, ACTLab, and the Media Archaeological Fundus. The authors cover topics such as the evolution and delineation of lab-based communities, how labs’ tools and technologies contribute to defining their space, and a glossary of key hybrid lab techniques. Providing rich historical breadth and depth, The Lab Book brings into focus a critical, but often misunderstood, aspect of the contemporary arts and humanities.
From the “Big Science” of Bell Laboratories to the esoteric world of séance chambers to university media labs to neighborhood makerspaces, places we call “labs” are everywhere—but how exactly do we account for the wide variety of ways that they produce knowledge? More than imitations of science and engineering labs, many contemporary labs are hybrid forms that require a new methodological and theoretical toolkit to describe. The Lab Book investigates these vital, creative spaces, presenting readers with the concept of the “hybrid lab” and offering an extended—and rare—critical investigation of how labs have proliferated throughout culture. Organized by interpretive categories such as space, infrastructure, and imaginaries, The Lab Book uses both historical and contemporary examples to show how laboratories have become fundamentally connected to changes in the contemporary university. Its wide reach includes institutions like the MIT Media Lab, the Tuskegee Institute’s Jesup Wagon, ACTLab, and the Media Archaeological Fundus. The authors cover topics such as the evolution and delineation of lab-based communities, how labs’ tools and technologies contribute to defining their space, and a glossary of key hybrid lab techniques. Providing rich historical breadth and depth, The Lab Book brings into focus a critical, but often misunderstood, aspect of the contemporary arts and humanities.
328 pages, Paperback
Published April 19, 2022
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24 people want to read
About the author
Darren Wershler
9 booksDarren Wershler is the author or co-author of ten books, most recently The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting (2007) and, with Bill Kennedy, apostrophe (2006). The former senior editor of Coach House Books, Wershler is an assistant professor of communication studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, faculty at the Canadian Film Centre Interactive Art and Entertainment Program, and a research affiliate of the IP Osgoode Intellectual Property Law & Technology program.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 2, 2025
This book is a great resource, providing a framework for thinking about media arts/technology labs. There are some excellent examples of interesting labs from throughout history and insightful analysis of how those function as labs and the social-cultural significance of framing these as labs.
My main issue with the book is that it’s almost over cited and chock full of references to other scholars’ work. Many sections of the book are stitched together paraphrases and applications of other folks’ theories rather than a full development of the authors’ ideas about labs.
My main issue with the book is that it’s almost over cited and chock full of references to other scholars’ work. Many sections of the book are stitched together paraphrases and applications of other folks’ theories rather than a full development of the authors’ ideas about labs.
March 17, 2024
Read this because of an RBS class and with a bunch of work colleagues. It gave us a lot of things to think about and discuss in person even if it felt somewhat fragmented at different points in the book.
July 23, 2022
Review forthcoming in Theory, Culture, and Society.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews