معرفی
Robin Schrade is a researcher at the Department of Media Studies, Ruhr University Bochum, serving as scientific coordinator of the DFG graduate school "The Documentary. Excess and Withdrawal" since September 2020. He completed his PhD in Media Studies at Ruhr University Bochum in 2020 with a dissertation examining historical connections between analog search techniques and modern digital surveillance systems.
Education:
- Bachelor of Media Studies and Theatre Studies, Ruhr University Bochum (2009-2012)
- Master of Media Studies, Ruhr University Bochum (2013-2015)
- PhD in Media Studies, Ruhr University Bochum (2020)
Schrade's research critically analyzes search technologies as cultural techniques that simultaneously enable knowledge access and facilitate surveillance. His work bridges media archaeology, governmentality theory, and documentary studies to trace how historical search practices—from scholastic indexing to monastic contemplation—shape contemporary digital environments. He investigates the dialectic between transparency and opacity in information systems, revealing power dynamics inherent in search mechanisms across eras.
His publications from 2013-2022 demonstrate an evolving focus from theatre criticism to comprehensive analyses of search engines as documentary interfaces. Key themes include search queries as ego-documents, algorithmic black-boxing, and the documentary's role in mediating excess and withdrawal. The corpus consistently engages with Foucault's governmentality and Deleuze's control societies framework while examining visualizations of search in contemporary art.
Scientific Awards:
- Deutschlandstipendium (Hans-Lothar und Ursula Brandt-Stiftung)
Schrade secured DFG seed financing for the graduate school and has taught seminars on search engine history and autobiographical theatre. He actively organizes academic events including the "Counter\Documentation" conference and "Media Philology" Summer Academy with Rutgers University, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue on network security and digital interventions. His mentoring occurs through graduate school coordination rather than formal student advisement.
As core organizer of the DFG graduate school, Schrade cultivates collaborative research on documentary practices across Media Studies, German Studies, Art History, and Theatre Studies. His work with the Research School of Ruhr University Bochum drives initiatives connecting European and American media philology traditions through workshops on digital epistemology and documentary theory.
