QUESTIONING NEW MEDIA
COURSE SYLLABUS
Fall 2008
CNM 201/IEOR 298-3: Questioning New Media
M 5:30-6:30PM, plus 7:30-9:00PM and other special times for ATC lectures
340 Moffitt Library
Professor Ken Goldberg
goldberg@ieor.berkeley.edu
TAs:
Alenda Chang
alenda@berkeley.edu
Kris Fallon
krisfallon@berkeley.edu
Course Description:
CNM 201/IEOR
298-3 (cross-listed under Center for New Media & Industrial
Engineering and Operations Research) will be held in conjunction with
the Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium, a monthly lecture series
that brings internationally known speakers to campus to present their
work on advanced topics in new media. This semester's speakers include: artists Steve Kurtz, Hasan Elahi, and Laurie Anderson, as well as composer and artist R. Luke DuBois and Creative Time director Anne Pasternak.
Students will enhance skills in "questioning" new media: how to think critically about advanced topics in new media, how to use new media resources such as the Internet to research pioneering work in new media, how to formulate effective questions about new media, and how to evaluate and create persuasive presentations on topics in new media.
Students will research each speaker and formulate incisive questions regarding each speaker's work. Students will attend each lecture, take careful notes, and ask relevant questions. During the week after each lecture, students and instructors will review and evaluate the strengths (and weaknesses) of the presentation and discuss pertinent advanced topics in new media.
This course is open to graduate students from any department and upper level undergraduates (upon instructor approval).
This course fulfills one of the core course requirements for the Designated Emphasis in New Media.
Requirements:
Students must attend class meetings and every ATC lecture. Please
see the attached course schedule for the specific dates of classes and
lectures. Students must research each speaker and are responsible for
generating discussion and contributing to a course blog. Required readings are available on the course website.
Grading:
This is a 2-credit course. Students will be graded on the
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory scale. To obtain a Satisfactory grade,
students must come prepared to each class and ATC lecture, contribute
to class discussions and the class blog, and turn in a list of three
incisive and relevant questions for each visiting speaker in the ATC lecture series. Attendance is expected: students with more than two unexcused absences will not receive a Satisfactory grade.
Class Schedule (dates with ATC lectures in bold):
| September 1 | Labor Day - NO CLASS |
| September 8 | Course introduction
Watch: "Steve Kurtz Waiting" (2006) by Jim Fetterley and Angie Waller Read: "Critical Art Ensemble Timeline (2000) |
| September 15 | Present research and questions for Steve Kurtz
Read: "Critical Art Ensemble Tactical Media Practitioners: An Interview" (2000); "Biocollage" (2000) |
| September 18 | ATC Lecture: Steve Kurtz, "Art and Discipline," 7:30-9PM,
Berkeley Art Museum Theater |
| September 22 | Discuss Steve Kurtz lecture |
| September 29 | Introduce Hasan Elahi
Read: "The Visible Man" (2007); "To Foil Prying Eyes, His Life is an Open Book" (2007); Introduction to Wendy Chun's Control and Freedom: Power and Paranoia in the Age of Fiber Optics (2006) Watch Elahi on The Colbert Report |
| October 6 | Introduce Laurie Anderson
Read: Introduction to Laurie Anderson (2000) by RosaLee Goldberg; Introduction from Steve Dixon's Digital Performance: A History of New Media in Theater, Dance, Performance Art, and Installation (2007) |
| October 13 | Present research and questions for Hasan Elahi
ATC Lecture: Hasan Elahi, "Tracking Transience: The Orwell Project," 7:30-9PM, 160 Kroeber Hall |
| October 20 | Discuss Hasan Elahi lecture
Present research and questions for Laurie Anderson |
| October 25 | ATC Lecture: Laurie Anderson, "Free Speech: New Media, Performance,
and Democracy," 2:00-3:30PM, Wheeler Hall Auditorium |
| October 27 | Discuss Laurie Anderson lecture
Introduce R. Luke DuBois Watch: Interview with DuBois at the 2008 Democratic National Convention Read: pp. 7-20, 296-304 of Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture |
| November 3 | Present research and questions for R. Luke DuBois
Read: Paul Lansky's "The Importance of Being Digital"; pp. 109-116 of Sven Lutticken's "The Feathers of the Eagle" Optional: Sven Lutticken's "The Art of Theft" ATC Lecture: R. Luke DuBois, "How to Type Fast and Influence People," 7:30-9PM, 160 Kroeber Hall |
| November 10 | Discuss R. Luke DuBois lecture
Read: Excerpt from Miwon Kwon's One Place After Another: Site-specific Art and Locational Identity |
| November 17 | Introduce Anne Pasternak
Read: Foreword to Creative Time: The Book - 33 Years of Public Art in New York City |
| November 24 | Present research and questions for Anne Pasternak
ATC Lecture: Anne Pasternak, "Public Art and Media: From Spectacle to Political," 7:30-9PM, 160 Kroeber Hall |
| December 1 | Discuss Anne Pasternak lecture |
| December 8 | Final class and wrap-up |