University
of Applied Arts Vienna welcomes Clemens Apprich as new Professor of Media Theory and History
19.04.2021
Rector
Gerald Bast on behalf of the University of Applied Arts Vienna is pleased to welcome Clemens Apprich as new Professor of Media
Theory and History. As a media theorist who is committed to a wide range of interests, he is due to commence his teaching
activities at the Institute of Fine Arts and Media Art this summer semester, and from the next academic year on, he will work
full-time in his new position.
Apprich works across the fields of media history, media theory,
cultural studies, and political philosophy, with a special interest in practices and formations that have emerged in the last
three decades through the engagement with digital media technologies. His current research focuses on the epistemological,
social, and technical analysis of filter algorithms, raising questions on how those digital cultures are organised and which
role they play in the transformation of democratic societies, and as to what extent they could be explained by the latest
developments in the field of machine learning.
Clemens Apprich has held academic positions at Leuphana University
of Lüneburg, Concordia University in Montreal, and University of Groningen – now followed by his appointment at the University
of Applied Arts Vienna. Besides pursuing his scientific career, the father of a three-year-old daughter has also participated
in various publication projects and cultural networking initiatives. In addition, Clemens Apprich has collaborated with “transmediale”
Festival for art and digital culture, Berlin, besides curating and organising international exhibitions and conferences.
As Professor of Media Theory and History, Clemens Apprich will enjoy deepening and sharing his extensive knowledge
of activist, artistic, cultural, theoretical, and media practices with students of Angewandte. “In view of a growing trend
to defend man against the machine, it is high time to consider defending the machine against man,” Clemens Apprich is convinced.
Essentially, he believes that artificial intelligence and machine learning have triggered pressing identity-related political
and fundamental questions on the status of the human subject. Beginning in May, Professor Apprich is offering an inaugural
block seminar on Pattern Discrimination.
