Media and Metaphors: The Case of Virtual Wandering and Stationary Movement

The metaphor of travel is a widespread and well known linguistic structure. Verbs like to wander or to hike have recently been used in German to characterise metaphorically the case of digital wandering or surfing the world wide web. The article focuses on the fact that there is of course through history a constant metaphorical use of wandering which has been deeply influenced by the use of different media: The panorama during the 19th century or the digital wandering at the beginning of the 21st century possess different implications concerning the interrelation of mind, medium, and body which is in reverse often bridged and deeply influenced by the medium metaphor. Consequently, one is today able to take a trip via computer through a molecule, to visit museums online or to walk through digitally reconstructed cathedrals like Cluny in France. The consequences these new technologies have on our physical bodies and on the perception of our bodies are a product of the mutual interrelation between mind, body, medium, and metaphor.