The contributors to Assembly Codes examine how media and logistics set the conditions for the circulation of information and culture. They document how logistics – the techniques of organizing and coordinating the movement of materials, bodies, and information – has substantially impacted the production, distribution, and consumption of media. At the same time, physical media, such as paperwork, along with media technologies ranging from phone systems to software are central to the operations of logistics. The contributors interrogate topics ranging from the logistics of film production and the construction of internet infrastructure to the environmental impact of the creation, distribution, and sale of vinyl records. They also reveal how logistical technologies have generated new aesthetic and performative practices. In charting the specific points of contact, dependence, and friction between media and logistics, Assembly Codes demonstrates that media and logistics are co-constitutive and that one cannot be understood apart from the other.
The editors and contributors will be in conversation with members of the “Automating the Logistical City” project to explore the contributions of the book in terms of developing a logistical media theory. The event will take place via Zoom.