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dc.rights.licenseCC-BY-NC-ND
dc.contributor.advisorde Vries, Imar
dc.contributor.authorPots, M.
dc.date.accessioned2014-06-25T17:00:59Z
dc.date.available2014-06-25T17:00:59Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.identifier.urihttps://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/16794
dc.description.abstractSuddenly, a Big Data revolution seems to be on its way. In both technological and popular discourses, Big Data is often depicted as a new technological development that will undoubtedly bring new and profound insights, answers and knowledge. However, the promises of this rather vague term are highly debatable and have yet to be proven. In this thesis I will therefore inquire how it can be explained that Big Data has given rise to very high expectations and a lot of optimism in a rather short period of time. By building on the work of various media historians, this thesis departs from the proposition that this popular term currently relates to certain age-old and transhistorical ideas, desires and dreams about technology that have been part of our collective and subconscious memory long before the term ‘Big Data’ was even coined. By investigating both the current optimistic discourses of Big Data, as well as historical discourses that surrounded past media manifestations, it will be argued that Big Data became so big because its discursive construction confronts us with our age-old thoughts, dreams and expectations about technology, and thus constantly embeds Big Data in a discursive mould we already know.
dc.description.sponsorshipUtrecht University
dc.format.extent710261
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.titleHow Big Data Became So Big
dc.type.contentMaster Thesis
dc.rights.accessrightsOpen Access
dc.subject.keywordsBig Data, discursive constructions, media archaeology, technological optimism, transhistorical discourses, discursive moulds
dc.subject.courseuuNieuwe media en digitale cultuur


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