Karen Louise Grova Søilen

Short presentation

Title of project: Atmospheres of Surveillance 

Start date: 1.11.2017

Supervisor: Laura Skouvig

Co-supervisor: Kristin Veel

Member of the research groups Surveillance, Information Ethics, and Privacy and Digital Culture

Associated with Network for Research on Drones and Aesthetics.

My research investigates 'atmospheres of surveillance' as a concept that can deepen our understanding of what it entails to live in a contemporary surveillance culture, where surveillance practices range from control and discipline to care, communication, consumption, entertainment, and pleasure. Specifically, the aim of the Ph.D project is to identify and conceptualize the affective atmospheres of surveillance seen through the lens of contemporary art. I am interested in how artworks can illuminate alternative perspectives on bodily, emotional, and sensory experiences in the Surveillance Society.

I have a background in Contemporary Literature and Modern Culture, and the research project is situated in the intersection of Surveillance Studies and Cultural Studies.

 Areas of research interest:

• Surveillance Studies
• Affect Theory
• Contemporary Art
• Cultural and Aesthetic Perspectives on Surveillance 
• Photography and Digital Culture

CV

Work Experience

Department of Information Studies, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

    Ph.D. Fellow, 2017 - present

DIS -Study Abroad in Scandinavia, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Interim Program Director, European Humanities Department, Sept -Nov 2017

    Assistant Program Director, European Humanities Department, 2012 - 2017

Teaching Experience

Department of Information Studies, University of Copenhagen

   Digital Culture Fall semester 2018 (co- teaching, bachelor programme)

DIS -Study Abroad in Scandinavia, Copenhagen, Denmark

    A Sense of Place in European Literature 2015 -2017 (semester course - core course)

    Who's Watching: Surveillance, Art and Culture 2013 -2017 (semester course - elective)

    Women, Art, Identity, guest lecturer, 2013 - present (semester course, elective) 

Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, Summer University

   Surveillance Technologies and Cultural Transformations since 9/11, guest lecturer, 2019 (summer course)

Activities

Member of Editorial Board, Nordisk Tidsskrift for Informationsvidenskab og Kulturformidling 2017 -present

Research Stay Abroad

Freie Universität Berlin, spring 2019

Education

MA, Modern Culture and Cultural Communication, University of Copenhagen, 2011.

BA,  specialization in Comparative Literature, University of Bergen, 2008

Study abroad at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III, 2009