Paul Victor Schmidt

The thesis dissects the case of academic shadow libraries through the visually constructed theorem of The Stack. Benjamin Bratton’s world model of planetary-computation is firstly utilised to analyse their jurisdictional-infrastructural combat with academic publishers. Secondly, the case helps to discuss the concept within existing reception critically. With adding a perspective from below, the work aesthetically and theoretically engages with the pertinent critique of The Stack, claiming it omits economic and political conditions. In contrast, following Negri and Hardt, a Shadow Library Multitude on the horizon of the vertical layers is proposed.