Search History, produced by the DISCO Network, is a zine publication motivating interdisciplinary conversation on art, tech, and justice. The speed at which the tech industry moves often leaves the consumer unsure of where their agency lies in an increasingly digital world.

This zine is an invitation for playful uncertainty—a space for a software engineer to write a poem, a painter to code, a sociologist to write fiction. We welcome submissions from any University of Michigan student, not just artists or technologists, including undergraduates, graduate students, professional students, medical students, and those who have left or graduated in the last five years. We are all profoundly impacted by our socio-technological landscape, and we hope to show that we need diverse voices meditating on the implications of technology.

To the left, you can see our first volume’s website. Below, you will find our second volume’s site.
Find submissions and a PDF of the print edition by clicking on the icons there, and read about
our editor’s work and artists’ bios below that. Now, go forth and start falling down, down, down…

Check out Volume 1!

Vol. 2: Into the Rabbit Hole

Meet the Contributors

  • Photo of Madeline Rea, sitting on a curved brick ledge in front of an indoor pond and greenery. Madeline has medium length hair, a bandana on, and wears a two-toned white and blue sweater.

    Madeline Rea

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Neuroscience and Data Science, Minor in Writing

    Aspiring X-man

  • Black and white grainy image of a turtle wearing a military helmet, pointing offscreen.

    J.C. Wilber

    Major(s) & Minor(s): FTVM, Minor in Writing and Museum Studies; Special Collections Library Staff

    Currently interred somewhere beneath Culpeper, VA

  • Black lineart drawing of an animated figure, with a fun aggressive expression and black cat ears.

    Selena Zou

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Architecture

    slaying, gagging, and thriving babe

  • Simple illustration of a red and orange bird, similar to a bell pepper color, with a stem on its head and shine on its chest.

    Thejas Varma

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Communication and Media, English Minor

    snug at home in a blanket

  • Photoshopped headshot of Bailey Newsome with three smiles and three eyes, against a lined paper background with orange light.

    Bailey Newsome

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Art & Design, Psychology

    @baileythe__

  • Close-up photo of Dee Holmes, holding a light brown stuffed animal and wearing a bright yellow jacket. Dee has a wide open-mouthed smile and platinum blonde hair.

    Dee Holmes

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Art & Design, Minor in Creative Writing

    Artist and tiramisu enthusiast

  • Lineart drawing of a figure with soft lumpy hair, a wide smile and wide eyes, wearing a graphic tee and flannel.

    Bella Spagnuolo

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Art & Design

    destroyer of toilets

  • Close-up of a tabby cat with an open mouth and blue eyes.

    AlleyCat123

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Computer Science Alum

    Just another alley cat

  • Simple drawing of a cat face wearing circular sunglasses and a hat, in a circle with a purple and pink gradient.

    Anonymous Member 104

    Major(s) & Minor(s): English, Minor in LGBTQ+ Sexuality Studies

    Shirley Jackson’s homoerotic best friend

  • Photo of two cats standing on the top platform of a cat tree, the one in front is lunging towards the camera while the other watches on.

    AlleyCat456

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Math and Computer Science; English and Minor in LGBTQ+ Sexuality Studies

    The alley cats are multiplying, and you should be scared.

  • Close-up image of a goldfish cracker.

    Jaimie Lopez

    University of Michigan Library Staff

    occasional maker of things

  • Still frame of an animated show, a redheaded woman with an annoyed look sits behind a desk with a placard reading "librarian"

    Anonymous

    Major(s) & Minor(s): English, Women and Gender Studies

    pissed off librarian in training

  • Illustration of a short-haired blonde with green eyes, looking to the right at a small orange cat that sits on this person's shoulder

    Sophie

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Art & Design

    Cat enthusiast

  • Photo of a cat standing on its hindlegs, looking a little shocked. Its front is completely covered in pink coloring.

    B.L. Devlin

    Major(s) & Minor(s): English, Minor in Museum Studies and Digital Studies

    frequently found making art and/or fully submerged in a degrassi binge

  • Simple black and white graphic of an impossible 'S' shape that connects into itself.

    Saarthak Johri

    Major(s) & Minor(s): Astronomy

    Seeking enlightenment through sleep deprivation

Editors’ Note

In times long-since passed, we might have been inclined to think that the Internet and the “real world” were entirely distinct spheres, that what happens in one space didn’t necessarily impact the reality of the other. Today, we know that couldn’t be further from the truth. Though the Earth continues to turn as usual, a parallel universe now exists in the cloud, in cables buried under and across oceans, in data center fortresses, in little black mirrors, in our heads rent free, running 24/7. 

This zine, our second volume of Search History, asks: What happens when a person spends a significant amount of time in the online world? Like Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland, we wanted to explore what happens when we fall, whether purposefully or not, down rabbit holes. Asking participants to reflect on their experiences with digital attention traps and their Internet engagement, Search History presents an opportunity to press pause. In confronting both the rich information networks and the brainrotting distractions, we find nuance and an attempt to savor it. We don’t simply label it “good” or “bad,” we reckon with what the Internet has to offer and what it takes as a price; For every delicious morsel of indulgent fodder, there is an equal lump in frustration, dread, and rage ready to bait us further down. 

If you would kindly: Pay attention as our contributors negotiate these complexities. We invite you to form your own conclusion from all of the perspectives presented ahead. Thank you for reading Search History: Into the Rabbit Hole.