Thinking code conversationally

We introduce our co-edited topical collection on Critical Code Studies and Code Conversations with an argument for conversation’s centrality to the discipline of critical code studies as a mode of engagement and understanding. We move towards a definition of a conversational method by highlighting moments from our own experience of code reading and from the discipline’s foundational literatures where analysis is made possible by and expressed through conversation. Following this, we develop an account of the conversation’s particular affordances for critical code studies, which come about through attention to positionality, temporality, and distance. We conclude with an overview of the articles which make up our topical collection, each of which contributes to a kaleidoscopic vision of conversational critical code studies.