Software Studies

How do we see, think, consume, and make software? How does software—from algorithmic procedures and machine learning models to free and open-source software programs—shape our everyday lives, cultures, societies, and identities? How can we critically and creatively analyze something that seems so ubiquitous and general yet is also so specific and technical? How do artists, designers, coders, scholars, hackers, and activists create new spaces to engage computational culture, enriching our understanding of software as a cultural form? In this cross-disciplinary series, we present authors and books that answer these questions by focusing on software as a site of societal and technical power.We are especially interested in contributions that move beyond broad statements about software and integrate a wide range of disciplines—from mathematics to critical race theory, from software art to queer theory—to understand the social and cultural implications of software. We seek work that addresses the plurality of practice—from participatory design to critical art—and that draws on knowledge from media, visual, game, cultural, and literary studies; history; decolonial theory; new materialism; artistic and critical design practices; and electronic literature and narrative. Ultimately, we seek to explore the vast possibilities, histories, relations, and harms that software encompasses.