Dr. Jens Fehrenbacher
Dr. phil.
Faculty of Cultural Sciences
Cologne International School of Design
Standort Mülheim
Schanzenstraße 28
51063 Köln
Mailing address
+49 221-8275-5848
jens.fehrenbacher@th-koeln.de
Positions
- Postdoctoral Researcher at the DFG-Research Impulse "Cultural Memory in Crisis"
- Research Unit III: Digital Cultural Memory
Responsibilities
- Research, Teaching, Project Management, Research Data Management
Research fields
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Media studies, cultural studies, digital memory, media art, extended reality, software studies, science & technology studies, critical heritage studies
Projects / Cooperations
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"Heritage Software. Virtualized testimony between standardization and fluidization" within the DFG Research Impulse "Cultural Memory in Crisis"To the Research Project
How is the experience of cultural heritage and historical testimony transformed by its conversion into virtual models? The research project examines the procedures, strategies and impacts of virtualized built heritage and historical testimony via AI, XR and other contemporary media. At this crossing point of heritage and software, the intersecting dynamics of standardization and fluidization are analyzed: - Standardization on the one hand highlights the constraints of databases and platform logics narrowing down formats and standardazing content through the optimization for circulation. On the other hand, the question of ethical standards is raised, which is under constant negotations between policy makers, academics, cultural acteurs and other stakeholders, especially in times of upheaval. - Fluidization marks the slippage of certainty in a time when fake or manipulated content is easily created and widespread in social media. At the same time, the call for an increased fluidity in the concept of heritage can be regarded as a critique of dominant canons. In contrast, multiperspectivity and deconstructive approaches can be forstered through the use of digital technologies. While both dynamics remain necessarily ambivalent, they describe societal challenges regarding the question of memory in a digital age. Therefore, a theoretical framework will be developed and refined through selected applications and case studies. -
Augmented reality project "re:trace - colonial traces in the Rhineland"re:trace website
The augmented reality project “retrace – Colonial Traces in the Rhineland” is dedicated to critically examining and bringing to light the region’s colonial legacy. The focus is on examining historical interconnections in urban spaces, in local collections, and in monuments. To create a multi-perspective digital experience, participatory workshops and interviews with guests from academia, culture, and activism were conducted, and collaborations were established with artists from Namibia, Ghana, and Germany. In terms of presentation, the possibilities of digital media were utilized to implement performative interventions, responsive design, and deconstructive elements, such as the dissolution of a colonial war memorial. The result is a free augmented reality app for Android and iOS, a podcast series, and an exhibition at the Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf. -
InVirtuo 4.0: Experimental Research in Virtual EnvironmentsInVirtuo 4.0: Experimental Research in Virtual Environments
The interdisciplinary research project InVirtuo 4.0 investigates virtual experimental situations with a focus on the creation of virtual body models and their use in diagnostic and therapeutic contexts. With the participation of researchers from computer science, media studies, cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology, and research ethics, the project conducts technical, clinical, ethical, and media-cultural studies. The media studies subproject examines the conditions of perception, decision-making, and action, as well as the sociocultural contextualization of virtual experimental situations. To this end, the following case studies were conducted: 1.) “Virtualization as a Transformative Technology and Research Paradigm”: Sociotechnical contextualization of current developments in the field of virtual reality, as well as a media- and science-historical analysis of paradigmatic VR experimental systems. 2.) “Critical Technical Practice”: Identification of the perceptual, cognitive, and physical capabilities afforded by the technology used, as well as a critical evaluation of technology-induced biases and opportunities for participation. 3.) “Situational Imaging”: Observation and analysis of the testing of virtual experiments, as well as mapping of potential application contexts and disruptions to established routines. -
Subproject “Virtual Environments” within the DFG Collaborative Research Center “Virtual Lifeworlds”Publication "Virtualisierung von Umgebungen Roboter bauen als medienwissenschaftliches Experiment"
The research project “Virtual Environments” investigates how (semi-)autonomous cars use virtual environments to operate in traffic. With a twofold, historical-genealogical and experimental-speculative method, it studies sensoalgorithmic virtuality as a procedure developed in robotics. It builds prototypes of robots based on Arduino-microcontrollers and the programming environment HectorSLAM. With this research program it is possible to study the conditions and consequences of virtual spaces of interaction in which human and non-human actors are attributed with agency. -
Ph.D. project “Situations of Aesthetic Negotiation: An Ecological Perspective on the Reception of Art” in the DFG Research Training Group “Aesthetic Practice”To the Monograph
How can we describe the impact of art without viewing the artistic work as the sole point of reference? Is it possible to describe reception as an active, open-ended, and productive process? This volume proposes to present the idiosyncratic interactions between artistic works, audiences, staff, architectures, technologies, and more-than-human environments as an ecological, interlocking structure. Drawing on exhibition situations spanning installation and media art, dimensions of these interactions are differentiated in their complexity and fluidity through concepts such as practice, affordance, atmosphere, or affect. Through an anecdotal approach, facets of this aesthetic negotiation—ranging from the subtle redirection of attention to moments of mutual observation and moments of disruption—are examined to paint a complex picture of this process.
Publications
- Fehrenbacher, Jens; Friedrich, Kathrin (2026): Körper / Controller. Konfigurationen von Körper-Plattform-Verhältnissen durch XR-Medien, Body / Controller. Configurations of Body-Platform Relations through XR Media. In: Zeitschrift für Medienwissenschaft. Vol. 18, S. 40 - 54. (peer-reviewed/Open Access)https://doi.org/10.25969/MEDIAREP/24729
- Fehrenbacher, Jens; Przybylka, Nicola (2025): Virtualisierung jenseits der Rekonstruktion. In: Medien-Impulse: mi : Beiträge zur Medienpädagogik. Vol. 63, S. 1 - 47. (peer-reviewed/Open Access)https://doi.org/10.21243/mi-04-25-09
- Engemann, Christoph; Fehrenbacher, Jens; Merkle, Benedikt; Nyckel, Thomas; Schmiedel, Alex; Sprenger, Florian (2025): Virtualisierung von Umgebungen : Roboter bauen als medienwissenschaftliches Experiment. Bielefeld: transcript (Virtuelle Lebenswelten). (Open Access)https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839401330
- Bunnenberg, Christian; Fehrenbacher, Jens; Gilles, Raphaela; Kokot, Sylvia; Przybylka, Nicola; Urban, Annette (2025): Von Empathie zum Caring. VR als soziale Konstellation. In: Breil, Patrizia; Sprenger, Florian; Kokot, Sylvia (Hrsg.): Virtuelle Universität – Geistes- und gesellschaftswissenschaftliche Zugänge. Bielefeld: transcript (Virtuelle Lebenswelten), S. 461 - 474. (Open Access) https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839400340
https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839400340-058 - Engemann, Christoph; Fehrenbacher, Jens; Kokot, Sylvia; Nyckel, Thomas; Schmiedel, Alex; Shnayien, Mary; Sprenger, Florian (2025): Scalar Translation as a Method. Small Approaches to Scalability in Digital Cultures. In: Digital Culture & Education. Vol. 15, S. 92 - 111. (peer-reviewed/Open Access)https://bibliografie.th-koeln.de/servlets/DozBibEntryServlet?mode=show&id=bibthk_mods_00016806
- Fehrenbacher, Jens (2025): Situationen ästhetischer Aushandlung : Zur ökologischen Perspektive auf Kunst-Rezeption. Leiden: Brill | Fink (Ästhetische Praxis). (Open Access)https://doi.org/10.30965/9783846769683
- Bolinski, Ina; Ciochon, Lena; Fehrenbacher, Jens; Haaren, Suzette van; Kokot, Sylvia; Künzel, Philipp; Przybylka, Nicola; Seewald, Helene; Smirnov, Roman; Veen, Manuel van der; Weidemann, Ronja (2025): Herausforderungen immersiver Forschung : Ein 360°-Rundumschlag aus geisteswissenschaftlicher Perspektive. In: Breil, Patrizia; Sprenger, Florian; Kokot, Sylvia (Hrsg.): Virtuelle Universität – Geistes- und gesellschaftswissenschaftliche Zugänge. Bielefeld: transcript (Virtuelle Lebenswelten), S. 437 - 454. (Open Access) https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839400340
https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839400340-056 - Fehrenbacher, Jens; Lewandowski, Kira; Jürgens, Jane (2024): Situierung. In: Fehrenbacher, Jens; Flugel, Kristin; Jürgens, Jane Lia; Laser, Stefan; Lorenz, Marco; Pittroff, Fabian (Hrsg.): Vokabular des Virtuellen : Ein situiertes Lexikon. Bielefeld: transcript (Virtuelle Lebenswelten), S. 166 - 171. (Open Access) https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839472071
https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839472071-048 - Fehrenbacher, Jens; Flugel, Kristin; Jürgens, Jane Lia; Laser, Stefan; Lorenz, Marco; Pittroff, Fabian (2024): Editorial. In: Fehrenbacher, Jens; Flugel, Kristin; Jürgens, Jane Lia; Laser, Stefan; Lorenz, Marco; Pittroff, Fabian (Hrsg.): Vokabular des Virtuellen : Ein situiertes Lexikon. Bielefeld: transcript (Virtuelle Lebenswelten), S. 65 - 68. (Open Access) https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839472071
- Fehrenbacher, Jens (2024): Sand in der Empathie-Maschine : Dekonstruktive Strategien in kritischer Bildungsarbeit mit VR/AR. In: Haverich, Katharina; Kuster, Lucas (Hrsg.): Das Metaversum zerstalten : Virtuelle Realität, Vielfalt, Kultur. Bielefeld: transcript (Digitale Gesellschaft), S. 124 - 137. https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839473924
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839473924-010 - Fehrenbacher, Jens; Cohn, Dominika (2024): Performance-Ökologie auf Endlospapier : Situationsapparat Nr. 3 als Beziehungsübung. In: Roselt, Jens (Hrsg.): Üben üben : Praktiken und Verfahren des Übens in den Künsten. Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink (Ästhetische Praxis), S. 103 - 117. https://doi.org/10.30965/9783846767856
https://doi.org/10.30965/9783846767856_008 - Fehrenbacher, Jens (2024): Denkmal, virtuelles. In: Fehrenbacher, Jens; Flugel, Kristin; Jürgens, Jane Lia; Laser, Stefan; Lorenz, Marco; Pittroff, Fabian (Hrsg.): Vokabular des Virtuellen : Ein situiertes Lexikon. Bielefeld: transcript (Virtuelle Lebenswelten), S. 57 - 64. (Open Access) https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839472071
https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839472071-014 - Fehrenbacher, Jens (2024): Spuren, virtuelle. In: Fehrenbacher, Jens; Flugel, Kristin; Jürgens, Jane Lia; Laser, Stefan; Lorenz, Marco; Pittroff, Fabian (Hrsg.): Vokabular des Virtuellen : Ein situiertes Lexikon. Bielefeld: transcript (Virtuelle Lebenswelten), S. 171 - 174. (Open Access) https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839472071
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839472071-049 - Fehrenbacher, Jens; Flugel, Kristin; Jürgens, Jane Lia; Laser, Stefan; Lorenz, Marco; Pittroff, Fabian (Hrsg.) (2024): Vokabular des Virtuellen : Ein situiertes Lexikon. Bielefeld: transcript (Virtuelle Lebenswelten). (Open Access)https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839472071
- Fehrenbacher, Jens (2024): AR als Relationale Intervention : Dynamiken ästhetischer Aushandlung zwischen Medientechnologie, Nutzenden und Umwelten. In: IMAGE : Zeitschrift für interdisziplinäre Bildwissenschaft. Vol. 20, S. 79 - 102. (peer-reviewed/Open Access)https://doi.org/10.1453/1614-0885-1-2024-16219
- Fehrenbacher, Jens; Lipki, Fabian; Co, Byron Christopher (2024): Virtual Interference with Colonial Monuments. Approaching the Kolonialkriegerdenkmal in Düsseldorf/Germany with Augmented Reality. In: Monuments and Sites De-colonial! Approaches to the Built Heritage of the German Colonial Era. International Conference of ICOMOS Germany and Technical University of Munich; Munich, Germany; 03.11.-04.11.2023., S. 213 - 218. (Open Access)https://bibliografie.th-koeln.de/servlets/DozBibEntryServlet?mode=show&id=bibthk_mods_00016815
- Fehrenbacher, Jens (2023): Hybride Hörsituation. Ein situiertes Experimentieren von Partita Radicales Etüde der Langsamkeit. In: Paust, Bettina; Weisheit, Katharina (Hrsg.): Performance transformieren : Covid-19 und die Digitalisierung des Wuppertaler Beuys-Performancefestivals. Bielefeld: transcript, S. 217 - 232. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839465202
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839465202-018 - Laser, Stefan; Pasek, Anne; Sørensen, Estrid; Hogan, Mél; Ojala, Mace; Fehrenbacher, Jens; Hepach, Maximilian Gregor; Çelik, Leman; Kumar, Koushik Ravi (2022): The Environmental Footprint of Social Media Hosting: Tinkering with Mastodon. In: EASST Review. Vol. 41, S. 25 - 33. (Open Access)https://bibliografie.th-koeln.de/servlets/DozBibEntryServlet?mode=show&id=bibthk_mods_00016817
- Fehrenbacher, Jens (2021): Ästhetische Praxis als ökologische Konzeption : Situationen relational-divergierender Rezeptionspraxis. In: Corsten, Michael (Hrsg.): Praxis. Ausüben. Begreifen. Weilerswist: Velbrück Wissenschaft, S. 197 - 219. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748912583
https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748912583-197
Talks
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Default Interfacing. Defaults zwischen Arbeitserleichterung, Zugänglichkeit und Normierung
„Interfacing Work“. Workshop der AG Interface der Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft. Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
08.05.2026 -
Responsibility in heritage photogrammetryLink
Transcultural relations and colonial legacies. Restitution beyond objects, cultural memory and digital mediation. Zeppelin University Innsbruck.
05.05.2026 -
Situiertes Schreiben, Situiertheit beschreiben
Workshop "Wie ästhetische Praxis beschreiben?" des DFG-Kollegs "Ästhetische Praxis". (Mit Dominika Cohn)
10.02.2026 -
Trackingstandarts in XR und deren Relevanz für Bildungsformate
Standardisierung und Bildungsmedien. Von Schulbuchverlagen bis APIs. Universität Marburg. (Mit Nicola Przybylka)
24.11.2025 -
Dekonstruktives Lernen mit Extended Reality. Zur ästhetischen Quellenkritik virtueller Rekonstruktion
Medienvertrauen heute – Herausforderungen, Dynamiken, Perspektiven. Universität Innsbruck.
14.11.2025 -
Destabilizing XR: Deconstructive Strategies for Arts & CultureLink
"XR and Attention Group" Lecture series. King's College London
05.11.2025 -
Tracking und Counter-Tracking bei XR-TechnologienLink
*MACHT* – Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft. Universität Paderborn.
17.09.2025 -
Feeling the worldly data centre: an ethnography based augmented reality experienceDocumentation
STS HUB 2025, Humboldt Universität Berlin (with Mace Ojala, Sandra Abels, Estrid Sørensen)
12.03.2025 -
AR als Beziehungsmedium. Technisch-soziale Relationalität und interventionales PotenzialLink
Technologisch erweiterte Realitäten im Kontext urbaner Räume. YouTransfer e.V. Stuttgart.
19.10.2024 -
Game-Engines as Research Environments. Interdisciplinary Encounter in Virtual Experimental Setups
EASST/4S 2024, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
17.07.2024 -
Spekulation und Scheitern – Wie man einen Roboter baut
Workshop Autonome Systeme und Interfaces, Alexander von Humboldt-Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, Berlin. (Mit Christoph Engemann, Thomas Nickel, Benedikt Merkle, Alex Schmiedel, Florian Sprenger)
04.07.2024 -
Building and Scaling – Environmental Adaptation and Robotics
Workshop "Forgetting by Design", College for the Social Sciences and Humanities, Essen. (Mit Christoph Engemann, Thomas Nickel, Benedikt Merkle, Alex Schmiedel, Florian Sprenger)
04.06.2024 -
Virtual Interference with Monuments. Augmented Reality as a Medium of Engagement with German Colonial Heritage through the Example of the Kolonialkriegerdenkmal, DüsseldorfConference Proceedings
ICOMOS conference "Monuments and Sites de-colonial! Methods and Strategies of Dealing with the Architectural Heritage of the German Colonial Era", Technische Universität München
04.11.2023 -
Situationsapparat No. 3: Endlospapier (partizipative Performance-Installation)Conference Proceedings
Jahreskonferenz "Üben üben", DFG-Kolleg "Ästhetische Praxis", Stiftung Universität Hildesheim. (Mit Dominika Cohn)
05.11.2021 -
Situations-Apparat
Partizipative Zoom-Lecture-Performance. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft. (Mit Fiona Schrading)
30.09.2020 -
Algorithmischer Eigensinn. Programmierung und Widerfahrnis im Kontext digitaler Künste.
Hacking the Computable. Zur ästhetischen Kritik digitaler Rationalität. Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart
17.01.2020
Memberships
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Gesellschaft für MedienwissenschaftGesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft
Working Group Interfaces
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STSingLink
Doing Science and Technology Studies in and through Germany. Working Group "Multiplying Data"
Curriculum Vitae
| Since 2026 |
TH Köln Postdoc at the DFG-Research Impulse "Cultural Memory in Crisis", Research Unit "Digital Cultural Memory" DFG-Research Impulse "Cultural Memory in Crisis" |
|---|---|
| 2024 - 2026 |
Universität Bonn Postdoctoral Researcher at the interdisciplinary project "InVirtuo 4.0: Experimental Research in Virtual Environments", Department of Media Studies InVirtuo 4.0 |
| 2022 - 2024 |
Ruhr University Bochum Research associate at the “Virtual Humanities Lab”, associate member of the SFB “Virtual Lifeworlds” Virtual Humanities Lab |
| 2019 - 2022 |
University of Hildesheim Doctorate in the DFG Research Training Group “Aesthetic Practice” DFG Research Training Group “Aesthetic Practice” |
| 2015 - 2019 | Interactive Media Art, Performances & Workshops Website (outdated) |