Ryerson University Digital Commons @ Ryerson Theses and dissertations 1-1-2013 Dematerializing Digital Objects: Denial, Decay, Detritus and Other Matters of Fact Eva J. Nesselroth-Woyzbun Ryerson University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ryerson.ca/dissertations Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons Recommended Citation Nesselroth-Woyzbun, Eva J., "Dematerializing Digital Objects: Denial, Decay, Detritus and Other Matters of Fact" (2013). Theses and dissertations. Paper 1446. This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Ryerson. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ryerson. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEMATERIALIZING DIGITAL OBJECTS: DENIAL, DECAY, DETRITUS AND OTHER MATTERS OF FACT By Eva J. Nesselroth-Woyzbun Hon. Bachelor of Arts, Semiotics & Communication, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1999 Master of Arts, Communication & Culture, York University, Toronto, Canada, 2005 Presented to Ryerson University and York University In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication & Culture Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2013 ©Eva Nesselroth-Woyzbun, 2013 AUTHOR'S DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A DISSERTATION I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this dissertation. This is a true copy of the dissertation, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this dissertation to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this dissertation by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my dissertation may be made electronically available to the public. ii ABSTRACT “Dematerializing Digital Objects: Denial, Decay, Detritus and Other Matters of Fact” Eva J. Nesselroth-Woyzbun Doctor of Philosophy in Communication and Culture, 2013 The Joint Program in Communication and Culture, Ryerson University and York University We know little about the materials that constitute the digital devices we use every day, from where those materials are derived, or where they will go when we discard them. Through a variety of means, digital devices are “dematerialized.” That is, a digital object’s material components are denied and concealed by complex cultural and economic practices that support a myth of immaterial and ubiquitous computing without material consequences. Since the early days of digital computing, designers have striven to design devices that are smaller, better, denser, and faster. These traits are framed as ideals against which new products are measured and they have encouraged a desire for ubiquitous, imperceptible integration of digital computing at all levels of modern life. This dissertation argues that the digital object is dematerialized and that this pervasive reduction of the physical object and our very awareness of the physicality of digital materials inhibits our ability to support awareness of the material limits and often detrimental impacts of digital devices. However, the material nature of the digital object may be more apparent after an object is rendered obsolete. Drawing from media archaeology, thing theory, and material culture studies, this dissertation examines a few “afterlives” of digital objects because it is only after its useful life that the object’s materiality takes on transformative powers. For example, when discarded, its physical properties become problematic and may be framed as an environmental issue. Or, when treated as a material artifact in a museum the digital object resists historicity, and when saved as a memento it may take on unexpected nostalgic power. I argue that it is precisely the dematerialized aspects of the informatic media that have created the situation of ‘e-waste’ and it is through a new consciousness of their materiality that we might think about how these technologies evolve and occupy space in the future. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The production of a dissertation is, in truth, a group effort. I thank my dissertation supervisor, Janine Marchessault of York University for her wisdom and time, as well as Steve Bailey (York University) and Michael Prokopow (OCAD University) for their advice, feedback, and encouragement. Throughout the many stages of this project, the loving and supportive patience of my partner, Tom Woyzbun, never ceased to impress and encourage me. Similarly, my father Peter W. Nesselroth, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, offered many hours of listening, reading, and guiding me through this project. This was very much a family endeavour and the Woyzbun and Nesselroth family members, too numerous to name, deserve significant thanks and recognition for their support. The Computer History Museum archivists in Mountain View were extremely helpful and patient with this research, and I would also like to acknowledge the Lemelson Center staff and archivists in Washington DC for their time and effort. This project was made possible through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program, two Rogers Doctoral Fellowship grants, and a number of Ryerson University’s funding bodies including the Yeates School of Graduate Studies, the International Student Office, the student union and the Joint York-Ryerson Program in Communication and Culture. Finally, my peers provided invaluable social support and our group work sessions at numerous libraries around Toronto helped me keep my spirits up and our friendships strong. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Background .................................................................................................................................. 2 Excavating the digital ........................................................................................................................... 9 Purpose of this Study ................................................................................................................. 11 Definition of Key Terms ............................................................................................................ 12 Theoretical Context .................................................................................................................... 15 Material culture and the digital object ................................................................................................ 16 Media archaeology of the digital artifact ............................................................................................ 21 Thing theory........................................................................................................................................ 28 Other influential disciplines ................................................................................................................ 30 Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 31 Relevance ............................................................................................................................................ 35 Chapter One Historical Objects ............................................................................................. 38 Temples in the Valley ................................................................................................................ 38 A Day at the Museum ................................................................................................................ 40 But where to begin? ............................................................................................................................ 42 The behemoth at the gates .................................................................................................................. 43 Science and technology archives ........................................................................................................ 47 The End Determines the Beginning ........................................................................................... 50 As the Dead May Speak to the Young ....................................................................................... 53 Getting the Backstory on Dematerialization .............................................................................. 59 Rebels with(out) a cause ..................................................................................................................... 65 Computing revolution(?) .................................................................................................................... 67 Women, Moths, and other Tyrants in Computing History ........................................................ 70 Oral Histories, or When Words Fail .......................................................................................... 76 An ephemeral note on ephemera: A digression into debauchery........................................................ 78 The microcosm of the laboratory ........................................................................................................ 81 Emotional machines ...........................................................................................................................