Positionality impacts research. Despite the fact that all of the articles on this site come with an extensive list of credible references, my own experiences and background inform what information I have access to and deem credible. Therefore, my positionality cannot be understated.
Consider this page the silent first footnote in all of my writings – an overview of what continues to inform my writing and my worldview.
Growing up online
I got my first smartphone in 2013 – a Sony Experia mini.
In the midst of growing up in a small, homogenoeus European country, the (now looking back – truly miniature) smartphone represented a window into a whole new world. Always an avid reader, I spent hours upon hours finding blogs to follow and articles to scan. Being twelve at the time, I lived vicariously through youtubers and tumblr-personalities.
If you asked me at the time, I doubt I would’ve seen the summer I got that phone as a transformative experience. Looking back, I am almost certain that it laid the ground-work for almost everything I know today.
I logged on during the very start of the SJW, Buzzfeed era of the internet. I was eager to learn and, having never been exposed to any discussions about gender, race, or sexuality, I absorbed all of the information presented to me. While in retrospect most of the discourse at the time lacked depth and nuance, it did give me an entry-point into thinking about social justice, and was a political awakening of sorts.
Being able to be curious and explore my interests online, while remaining anonymous, was a great way to expand my horizonts at my own pace. I learned English online. I made a lot of online friends and heard first-hand many perspectives it would have otherwise taken me years to be exposed to. This is a rosy account, but I still fondly remember what social media without ads looks like (and the knowledge of “what the internet used to be like” really does drive most of my current work).
As I grew out of my fandom days, Youtube became my primary source of entertainment online. Of the top of my head, I can easily name at least 10 video essays that I think of regularly, despite them being almost 10 years old. Equipped with high-school level of sociology and philosophy, I discovered “breadtube” – a vaguely left-leaning genre of video essayists like Contrapoints, Philosophytube and Lindsey Ellis (dearly missed). With time, the general intrest in social sciences narrowed, and I found myself particularly interested in applying the newfound concepts and ideas to the digital space. There’s a couple of pieces of online content that I regard as the initial spark in that direction.1
I am still a big lover of video essays – despite the countless content mills.
Academic Background
I completed my undergraduate degree at University in Ljubljana, where I studied International Relations. Despite the IR focus, the degree covered a range of topics and I found myself particularly interested in classes related to media studies. In my first year of undergrad I had to do a presentation on Gramsci’s cultural hegemony. As I was preparing the presentation I stumbled upon a couple of articles discussing Meta’s Free Basics program in Africa, and the “application” portion of the presentation seemed to write itself. I continued to link all of my seminars and papers to the cyberspace – largely inspired by the fact that I read Nicole Perlroth’s “This is How They Tell Me The World Ends” and became equal parts fascinated and terrified with the idea of cyberwarfare.
During my undergraduate studies I moved twice – first to Prague and then to Bologna. While studying in Czech Republic, I became increasingly aware of the persistance of cold-war thinking. I moved to Prague a couple of months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the idea of “Eastern Europe” was both contentious and relevant. My curriculum in Italy was a lot more concerned with the rise of populism (unsurprisingly, as it was Meloni’s first year in power).
I am currently finishing my first year of the European Politics and Society master’s programme. Yet again, I am moving between three institutions – adding Leiden and Barcelona to my collection of student cards. While still mostly European, EPS has helped expand my social circle beyond the borders of the continent – for which I am incredibly grateful. Recently, I have found myself reading a lot of Latin American feminist writers, as well as women writing on topics of technology. I am a great fan of Kate Cawford, as well as Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein.
- Honorable mentions: Line Goes Up – “The Problem of NFTs” by Folding Ideas, “The Metaverse: A Guide to the Future of Capitalism”, and “The Gig Economy” by Tom Nicholas,” Meta & VR: Crimes Against the Face” by Ordinary Things ↩︎
Zmijica Zines 