The Data Fix with Dr. Mél Hogan Containment, with Zoë Sofoulis (Zoe Sofia) and Ingrid Richardson
Feb 2, 2026
Ingrid Richardson, RMIT professor of digital media who studies materiality and mobile media, and Zoë Sofoulis, retired academic known for feminist work on container technologies, rethink containers and containment as feminist strategies. They trace container histories, debate material agency, porosity, leaks, and the politics of data centres. The chat spans metaphors, pandemic bubbles, and creative follow-ups.
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From 1998 Paper To COVID Seminar
- Zoë traced the book's origin to a 1998–2000 paper and a COVID-era seminar that finally funded and convened contributors.
- The project grew from longtime collaborators and postgrads into an edited volume supported by the University of Potsdam.
Containers Reframe Technological Stories
- Container metaphors reshape how we see technologies and social life by foregrounding storage, holding, and care.
- Re-centering containers reveals alternatives to heroic, weaponized narratives of technology and progress.
Carrier-Bag Versus Heroic Tools
- The carrier-bag metaphor contrasts gathering and care with heroic conquest and reframes what counts as foundational technology.
- Photovoltaics and quotidian technologies resist heroic narratives despite their cumulative significance.
