Critical Code and Software Studies

For the future of Digital Humanities, software cannot
remain either a black box or some sacred text that
only the high priests can access. Software intersects with
and coordinates so many aspects of our lives, and a few
lines of source code can determine processes all around
us. In 2008, The University of California San Diego
organized the Softwhere Studies workshop to further the
development of Software Studies, the critical analysis of
the cultural circulation of computer software. Critical
Code Studies is a subset of Software Studies that uses
critical theory to explicate the extra-functional significance of computer code, exploring not merely what the
code does but what it means. This panel offers a series
of talks that take up a Software Studies or Critical Code
Studies approaches to demonstrate the role of reading
code and software using the interpretive approaches of
the humanities. Such moves will lead not only to the
tearing down of disciplinary boundaries but also a vital understanding of the way software and source code
structure our political and personal lives. After a capsule
definition of critical code and software studies, panelists
will present their papers.