The Study of Negative Space

This commentary introduces a body of scholarly work concerned with the study of negative space in media economies: a practice of understanding current realities in order to recognize the more just, equitable possibilities that do not currently prevail but nevertheless could. The work draws on diverse fields, including platform studies, theories of mediation, media archaeology, legal and corporate governance scholarship, and religious studies. These have informed a series of publications including journal articles, book chapters, and the monograph Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Online Life. Research methods center on accountability through relational organizing, community-centered database development, experimental design through software prototyping, and theorizing grounded in practice. The activities described here have already begun to shape thinking in media studies and beyond, but they remain a foundation more than a capstone, and they leave room for further development in methodological rigor, breadth of practice, and diversity of imaginative resources.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Ph.D. by Published Work

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

PhD thesis

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Westminster

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Schneider, Nathan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Meikle, G.

Identifier

oai:westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk:wz658

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk:wz658