Tristan Thielmann

Tristan Thielmann is Professor of Science, Technology and Media Studies at the University of Siegen, Faculty I. He serves as Deputy Spokesperson of the DFG Collaborative Research Centre 1187 ‘Media of Cooperation’ and leads subprojects A03 and P04 on navigation in online/offline spaces and scientific media practices. He is based in Siegen, Germany, and is actively engaged in research, teaching, and academic leadership.

• PhD in Communication Studies
• Studies in Media Studies, European Media and Cultural Studies, Experimental Media Design

Tristan Thielmann’s research centers on media geographies, navigation studies, cultural cartographies, and the historical and praxeological analysis of media technologies. His work integrates science and technology studies (STS), ethnomethodology, and cultural theory to examine how media shape cooperation, perception, and spatial understanding. He investigates topics such as geomedia, sensor media, digital displays, and mobile practices, often through historical case studies involving radar, early computing, and transportation media like the bicycle.

His recent publications reveal a strong focus on the material and procedural dimensions of media, emphasizing practices over representations. He analyzes how digital technologies like SLAM, ENIAC displays, and sensor networks reconfigure human-environment relations and cooperative knowledge production. His work bridges media theory, history, and geography, contributing to a deeper understanding of digital society’s infrastructures.

• Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation (2018)
• Visiting Fellow, Software Studies Initiative, UC San Diego (2008)
• Visiting Fellow, Comparative Media Studies, MIT (2011/12)
• Visiting Fellow, Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT (2015)

Thielmann has supervised and co-directed the DFG Research Training Group ‘Locating Media’ since 2016. He has received funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for multiple projects, including long-term research on cooperative media practices. His editorial work includes co-editing volumes on collaboration, display theory, and actor-media theory, supporting scholarly discourse in media studies. He has not publicly listed any advisees, but his leadership roles indicate mentorship and academic guidance.

He is a key figure in the ‘Media of Cooperation’ research environment, contributing to interdisciplinary collaboration across media studies, geography, and science and technology studies. His work with the SFB 1187 fosters innovative research on the material conditions of cooperation in digital and historical contexts.