Schmidt, Jennifer

At the Heidelberg University of Education (PH Heidelberg), I teach on the Master’s programmes in ) and (teaching load: 2 SWS). Taking into account the respective key topics, in these modules we aim to work together to address questions concerning education in the context of digitalisation in a creative, action-oriented manner and to reflect on them theoretically. Enrolment is available via LSF or eCampus.

Title of the submitted doctoral thesis: Making als Kultur – Medienethnografische Erkundungen in Makerspaces

(Duration: 2023 to 2026)

Primary supervisor:

Second reviewer:

Abstract (as at June 2026)

This doctoral thesis conceives of ‘making’ – the creative, active and design-oriented interaction with digital technology as practised in makerspaces – as a cultural practice. Through media-ethnographic research in selected makerspaces, the study examines – from a media education perspective – how forms of interaction between humans and machines unfold in ‘making’ and how transformative educational potentials can become apparent within this context. Findings suggest that modes of interaction are constituted relationally between subject-specific concerns, the social environment, and the media and (digital) technical structures of the makerspaces. In this context, the use and design of technology were defined as central cultural techniques, which could be differentiated in terms of their tentative, playful and productive manifestations. Transformative educational potentials were identified on the basis of disruptions experienced by the participants, which became apparent in the wake of technical interruptions to the chain of interaction between humans and machines. The study shows that ‘making’ and makerspaces, as a relational framework, offer diverse potentials for shaping digital technology and, consequently, culture within the context of digitality.