The ZAK | Center for Cultural and General Studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a core scientific institution of the KIT that keys in on current topics and discourses with a view to forging new interdisciplinary perspectives.
The activities are based on three pillars: research, interdisciplinary learning for all students, and public science. Research projects of the ZAK, including those in the EU context, deal with topics concerning globalization, identity, techno-cultural changes and intercultural communication.
In order to inform and involve the public, public science events encourage dialogue between scientists and civil society. Moreover, by linking discursive formats with artistic forms, the Center contributes to making challenging topics easier to understand. True to its motto of »thinking outside the box«, the ZAK would like to offer all interested parties the opportunity to gain new experiences.
Media art at the ZAK
As a creative think tank, the ZAK research unit Public Science and New Media conducts studies on the typology of popular science videos on the internet, participatory culture in science museums, art communication, the documentation and dissemination of cultural heritage and media art installations, gender issues in popular science web videos, and genealogical studies on the polymedial dimension of popular science.
With the project e-Installation ‒ Synesthetic Documentation of Media Art at Risk, the ZAK and the Chair for Intelligent Sensor-Actuator Systems (ISAS) at KIT synesthetically document endangered media art installations using telepresence- and VR-based technologies, thereby contributing to an understanding and conservation of the material iconology of this type of art.
