Philipp Budka
LightNews LightNews
banner
philbu.bsky.social
Philipp Budka
@philbu.bsky.social
160 followers 180 following 120 posts
sociocultural anthropologist
infrastructure, tech, media, temporality, politics, ethnography
currently @univie.ac.at
https://www.philbu.net/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
philbu.bsky.social
Philipp Budka @philbu.bsky.social · 8d
In 2017, floods severed Churchill's (Manitoba 🇨🇦) #rail link. Residents seized infrastructural #sovereignty, with Indigenous & northern communities now co-owning this vital #transport corridor. A rare case of local control over Subarctic & #Arctic #infrastructure.

More:
doi.org/10.18357/ant...
Churchill from a helicopter; the Port of Churchill and its grain elevators in the back. Photo by Philipp Budka.
Reposted by Philipp Budka
infranortherc.bsky.social
🗓️ Feb 9: #InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka will give a talk titled “Sovereignty by Design: Community #Infrastructures in Remote Canada” as part of the seminar series of the Department of Social #Anthropology at the University of Manchester. @philbu.bsky.social @uomsoss.bsky.social
Feb 9, 2026: Talk by Philipp Budka at the University of Manchester’s Social Anthropology Seminar Series - InfraNorth
On Monday, February 9, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm (GMT), InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka will deliver a guest talk as part of the seminar series of the Department of Social Anthropology at the Uni...
infranorth.eu
January 29, 2026 at 3:20 PM
philbu.bsky.social
"Denn Intoleranz und Angst sind identische Begriffe."
Erich Kästner, 1926

This translates to: "Because intolerance and fear are identical concepts."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_K...
Erich Kästner - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 28, 2026 at 7:18 AM
Reposted by Philipp Budka
infranortherc.bsky.social
❓ What can scenario workshops offer to the #anthropology of #infrastructure that other ethnographic methods might not?

This #openaccess article by Schweitzer et al. in 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 reflects on #InfraNorth scenario workshops in #Kirkenes & #Churchill 👇

@journals.sagepub.com
Dec 2025: Article by Peter Schweitzer, et al. in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography - InfraNorth
The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography has recently published the article “Scenarios and Ethnography: Infrastructural Futures as Windows into the Present” by Peter Schweitzer, Olga Povoroznyuk, Phili...
infranorth.eu
January 26, 2026 at 4:31 PM
philbu.bsky.social
In 2017, floods severed Churchill's (Manitoba 🇨🇦) #rail link. Residents seized infrastructural #sovereignty, with Indigenous & northern communities now co-owning this vital #transport corridor. A rare case of local control over Subarctic & #Arctic #infrastructure.

More:
doi.org/10.18357/ant...
Churchill from a helicopter; the Port of Churchill and its grain elevators in the back. Photo by Philipp Budka.
January 24, 2026 at 8:35 AM
philbu.bsky.social
Qualitative researchers’ #AI rejection is based on identity, not reason:
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/qual...
Qualitative researchers’ AI rejection is based on identity, not reason
The claim that AI can’t make meaning contradicts what researchers are finding when they put these tools to careful, critical use, says James Goh
www.timeshighereducation.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:45 AM
philbu.bsky.social
My second co-edited volume, "Theorising Media & Conflict" (2020, with B. Bräuchler), is currently on sale.

Drawing on global case studies, it explores how #media & #conflict mutually shape one another & establishes their interplay as a distinct field of study.

www.berghahnbooks.com/title/BudkaT...
Theorising Media and Conflict | Berghahn Books
Independent Publishing since 1994
www.berghahnbooks.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:49 AM
philbu.bsky.social
@wikipedia.org turns 25 on 15 Jan 2026 – a full year to celebrate 25 years of #knowledge & #collaboration on the open #web.
meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
Wikipedia 25 - Meta-Wiki
meta.wikimedia.org
January 4, 2026 at 8:47 AM
philbu.bsky.social
Yannick #Nézet-Séguin has officially become the first Canadian conductor to lead the legendary #Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert.
apnews.com/article/vien...
Nézet-Séguin’s path to the Vienna New Year’s concert began when he replaced banned conductor in 2022
Yannick Nézet-Séguin's journey to conducting the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year’s Day concert began when he stepped in for a banned Russian conductor at Carnegie Hall in 2022.
apnews.com
January 1, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Philipp Budka
infranortherc.bsky.social
📰✨ The introduction to the “Ethnographies of Infrastructure” special issue of the 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 is out #openaccess, situating contributions within developments in the #anthropology of #infrastructure.

➡️ The print edition is due Feb 2026.

@journals.sagepub.com @univie.ac.at
Dec 2025: Forthcoming Special Issue of the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography - InfraNorth
The forthcoming special issue “Ethnographies of Infrastructure” of the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, guest edited by Philipp Budka, Peter Schweitzer, and Olga Povoroznyuk, is progressively bein...
infranorth.eu
December 12, 2025 at 9:50 AM
philbu.bsky.social
Interested in narratives & temporalities of #infrastructure in 🇨🇦?

Check out @gamatulli.bsky.social's & my introduction to the brand-new special issue in @anthropologica.bsky.social:
doi.org/10.18357/ant...

#anthropology #water #energy #transport
Union Station, Winnipeg, MB. Photo by Philipp Budka.
December 8, 2025 at 10:39 AM
philbu.bsky.social
With the world’s soccer fans watching, Gianni Infantino, the great toady to the globe’s oligarchs, handed a made-up award to the increasingly violent #US president:
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
#Fifa #WorldCup2026
FIFA Kisses Up to Trump With a “Peace Prize”
With the world’s soccer fans watching, Gianni Infantino, the great toady to the globe’s oligarchs, handed a made-up award to the increasingly violent US president.
www.thenation.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:24 AM
philbu.bsky.social
It was great participating in the press conference for the project "GAME ON! Sports for Human Rights" by @fairplayinitiative.bsky.social - ahead of the #Football / #Soccer World Cup 2026 in 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇲:
www.fairplay.or.at/news/news/pr...
Press conference of project "GAME ON! Sports for Human Rights". Photo by Karo Pernegger.
December 5, 2025 at 12:31 PM
philbu.bsky.social
#Vienna, 14th district, Dehnepark.
Dehnepark, Vienna. Photo by Philipp Budka.
November 23, 2025 at 12:34 PM
philbu.bsky.social
My 1st co-edited volume "Ritualisierung - Mediatisierung - Performance" (2019, w/ M. Luger & @franzograf.bsky.social) is currently on sale.

It celebrates the influential work of the late Manfred Kremser in #anthropology & #ritual / religious studies.

www.degruyterbrill.com/document/isb...
Cover of edited volume "Ritualisierung - Mediatisierung - Performance".
November 20, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Reposted by Philipp Budka
infranortherc.bsky.social
💡 As #InfraNorth enters its final stage, we spotlight the people behind the research, starting with Philipp Budka, who focused on #Churchill, Manitoba. His research shows how local ownership and community-led decisions can make #infrastructure more reliable & fair.

@philbu.bsky.social @univie.ac.at
“In northern Canada, transport is essential for daily life. My research focused on Churchill, Manitoba, which has no road connection and is the only place in the North American Arctic with a deep-sea port linked to a railway system.” – Philipp Budka (University of Vienna/InfraNorth). “In 2017, flooding damaged the railway and cut the town off for 18 months, revealing how transport sustains northern communities and how vulnerable that lifeline can be.” – Philipp Budka (University of Vienna/InfraNorth) “After the 2017 railway disruption, local and Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba took ownership of the railway and port. This gave them more control over transport and local development. Churchill’s experience shows that community-led decision-making can make infrastructure more reliable and fairer.” – Philipp Budka (University of Vienna/InfraNorth) “When the railway stopped working, Churchill became isolated. Instead of giving up, local and Indigenous communities worked together to buy and manage the railway and port. It is now one of the few community-owned transport systems of its kind in Canada and a strong example of local cooperation and resilience.” – Philipp Budka (University of Vienna/InfraNorth)
November 18, 2025 at 9:31 AM
philbu.bsky.social
In a new article for @anthropologica.bsky.social, I explore how #transport infrastructures in northern #Manitoba 🇨🇦 shape community life & #governance.

It demonstrates that #infrastructure is deeply social, political & intertwined with #climate & colonial #history.

doi.org/10.18357/ant...
Churchill Airport, MB, Canada. Photo by Philipp Budka.
November 15, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Reposted by Philipp Budka
anthropologica.bsky.social
...and the Introduction: Narratives and Temporalities of Infrastructure in Canada
Philipp Budka, Giuseppe Amatulli

@philbu.bsky.social @gamatulli.bsky.social

cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/an...

@alexandrinebf.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Philipp Budka
anthropologica.bsky.social
Current Issue Published!

Vol. 67 No. 1 (2025)

Narratives and Temporalities of Infrastructure: The Canadian Experience

Thematic Section editors:
Philipp Budka, Giuseppe Amatulli

cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/an...

@alexandrinebf.bsky.social @philbu.bsky.social @gamatulli.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 3:28 PM
philbu.bsky.social
AI's capabilities may be exaggerated by flawed tests, according to new study:
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
AI's capabilities may be exaggerated by flawed tests, according to new study
A study from the Oxford Internet Institute analyzed 445 tests used to evaluate AI models.
www.nbcnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:22 PM
philbu.bsky.social
Looking forward to my lecture on community #infrastructures, #sovereignty & futures in remote 🇨🇦 @ the Wednesday Seminar Series of the Dpt. of Social & Cultural #Anthropology @univie.ac.at.
November 5, 2025 at 1:08 PM
philbu.bsky.social
How Jean Baudrillard predicted today’s #AI 30 years before ChatGPT:
theconversation.com/how-the-fren...
How the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard predicted today’s AI 30 years before ChatGPT
Baudrillard’s genius lay in foreseeing what these rudimentary devices like fax machines suggested about likely future uses of technology.
theconversation.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Philipp Budka
infranortherc.bsky.social
📅 Join us this Wednesday, Nov 5, at 5 pm CET, for a lecture by #InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka, on infrastructural sovereignty in remote Canadian communities.

🌐 Hybrid at Uni Wien & Zoom, no registration needed. More details on the link below!

@philbu.bsky.social @univie.ac.at #Infrastructure
Nov 5, 2025: Presentation by Philipp Budka at the University of Vienna - InfraNorth
On November 5, 2025, at 5:00 pm CET, InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka will deliver a lecture titled “Sovereignty by Design: Community Infrastructures and Relational Futures in Remote Canada,” as pa...
infranorth.eu
November 3, 2025 at 12:00 PM
philbu.bsky.social
New blog post for the Digital #Ethnography Initiative (DEI) @univie.ac.at.

#Selfies Beyond the Frame: Digital Cultures in #India by Avishek Ray:
digitalethnography.at/selfies-beyo...
October 27, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Philipp Budka
theguardian.com
‘People thought I was a communist doing this as a non-profit’: is Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales the last decent tech baron?
‘People thought I was a communist doing this as a non-profit’: is Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales the last decent tech baron?
In an online landscape characterised by doom and division, the people’s encyclopedia stands out – a huge collective endeavour giving everyone free access to the sum of human knowledge. But with Elon Musk branding it ‘Wokipedia’ and AI looming large, can it survive?
www.theguardian.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:39 AM
philbu.bsky.social
Otto-Wagner Areal & Church, #Vienna.
Otto-Wagner Areal. Photo by Philipp Budka. Otto-Wagner Areal. Photo by Philipp Budka. Otto-Wagner Areal. Photo by Philipp Budka.
October 26, 2025 at 10:44 AM