TY - JOUR AU - Bardzell, Jeffrey AU - Bardzell, Shaowen PY - 2015/10/05 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - The User Reconfigured: On Subjectivities of Information JF - Aarhus Series on Human Centered Computing JA - AAHCC VL - 1 IS - 1 SE - Critical subjects and subjectivities DO - 10.7146/aahcc.v1i1.21298 UR - https://tidsskrift.dk/ashcc/article/view/21298 SP - 12 AB - <div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Foundational to HCI is the notion of “the user.” Whether a cognitive processor, social actor, consumer, or even a non- user, the user in HCI has always been as much a technical construct as actual people using systems. We explore an emerging formulation of the user—the </span><span>subjectivity of in- formation</span><span>—by laying out what it means and why research- ers are being drawn to it. We then use it to guide a case study of a relatively marginal use of computing—digitally mediated sexuality—to holistically explore design in rela- tion to embodiment, tactual experience, sociability, power, ideology, selfhood, and activism. We argue that subjectivi- ties of information clarifies the relationships between de- sign choices and embodied experiences, ways that designers design users and not just products, and ways to cultivate and transform, rather than merely support, human agency.</span></p></div></div></div> ER -