Mizen – Fenomny, mediln praktiky a techniky na prahu zjevnho Svatoov Kateina (2017)

This Czech-language collective monograph examines the tools, techniques and practices that make the discovery and appearance of things possible. While European philosophical tradition has focused mainly on the appearance of things, media theory and philosophy consider the operations that determine what can and cannot be shown or expressed. The disappearance of particular formations is connected with changes or inventions in technology, as well as with the reflection on or transgression of existing material and technical conditions. The book therefore focuses on operations of disintegration, destabilisation and the loosening of connections within seemingly stable formations, including political regimes, control techniques, artistic forms and conceptual systems. Inspired by the international conference Dis/appearing, the volume explores fundamental media operations of appearance and disappearance and reflects on several years of Czech-German discussions concerning shared theoretical and philosophical approaches to mediality. It draws particularly on the phenomenological tradition linking German and Czech philosophy, offering its critique and reinterpretation in relation to contemporary media and cultural-technology research. The contributions come from Czech and German scholars and are framed by an international perspective, an introductory discussion of their shared methodology and a commentary by the editors, Kateina Svatoov and Kateina Krtilov.