Berkeley Center for New Media Summer Courses


CNM 190, Section 1
Interactivity, from Cameras to Computers
Instructor: Brooke Belisle
(4 units, meets Tu, Wed, Th 9:00-11:30 during session A. Course control # 67305)

How do digital media influence how we think, perceive, remember? Affect our interaction with the world, other people, and our sense of ourselves? This course traces the history of "interactive media" from the 1800s to today through photography, film, early computing, video games, and contemporary digital installation. Designed for students from any discipline, the course introduces the central topics and debates within new media.

About the instructor: With degrees from Princeton, Berkeley, and NYU, Brooke Belisle teaches courses on media art ranging from photography and film to digital installation. At Berkeley she co-organizes the Townsend Center's New Media Working group, and she contributes to Transliteracies, a UC-wide new media research project.


CNM 190, Section 2             NOTE: EVENING COURSE
Building Interactive Virtual Places
Instructor: Yongwook Jeong
(3 units, meets Tu, Th 6 to 9 p.m. during session C. Course control # 67310)

A “real place” needs an actor, a stage, and a story. In a “virtual place” the actor becomes an avatar, the stage a synthetic environment, and the story a linear (or non-linear) narrative. The course will provide a comprehensive and theoretical framework on how to build virtual places, from initial sketches to actual implementation using Dassault System’s Virtools. As a final product, students will create their own virtual places, which others can visit to interact with the actor, stage or storytelling.

Programming knowledge/skill not required.

About the instructor: Yongwook Jeong is a researcher in the Digital Design Research Group at UC, and is programmer for the "Virtual Reality Cultural Heritage project: West Oakland Jazz Clubs of the 1950s”


CNM 190, Section 3
Introduction to Programming Graphics, Animation, and Interactions for Non-engineers
Instructor: Therese Tierney
(4 units, meets M-Tu-Th 3 – 5:30 p.m. during session C. Course control # 67315)

A course for artists, designers, or anyone else who wants to make his/her own visualizations. In this introduction to programming as both a unique creative medium and a powerful, necessary tool, learn the fundamental coding concepts for images, animation sound, interaction, and computer modeling. No prior computer programming is required, but students should have basic familiarity with the university’s computer system and software applications.

About the instructor: Therese Tierney has taught New Media classes at the University of California Berkeley and Dalhousie University with an emphasis on architectural design and visual theory + culture. Tierney is the author of "Abstract Space" and co-editor of "Network Practice: New Strategies for Architecture + Design." Holding degrees from UC Berkeley and CCA, she has carried out doctoral research at the MIT Media Lab and is currently a fellow at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia where she is exploring social spaces on the internet.


CNM 190, Section 4
Introduction to Electronic Art
Instructor: Joe McKay
(4 units, meets M-Tu-W 9 – Noon during session C. Course Control # 67320)

Take a glimpse inside the intimidating world of electronics through this hands-on introduction to analog electronic media art. Learn electronics in a stress-free and (almost) math-less approach. Gain knowledge and experience building electronic circuits to create your own art works, and explore the production of a variety of artists who use electronics. Art majors and non-majors welcome. No previous experience in art or electronics is necessary!

About the instructor: Joe McKay is an artist who makes work with and about digital culture. McKay grew up in Ontario, Canada, and earned his MFA in Digital Art at UC Berkeley. He has taught at Berkeley and Stanford.


New Media-Related Summer Courses in Affiliated Departments:

Anthropology 136e
Digital (New Media) Documentation and Representation of Cultural Heritage: Field School-San Francisco Presidio
Instructors: Professor Ruth Tringham, (Anthropology) and Dr. Michael Ashley, (Architect of Media Vault Program and Manager of New Program Development, Office of the Chief Information Officer)
CCN: 12115
Location: San Francisco Presidio
Maximum number of students: 25

The idea of this field-school has developed as a result of both the design charrette held in August 2007 by the archaeologists of the Presidio Trust to plan their research and public programs of the El Presidio (Spanish and Mexican) fort and the Presidio Trusts new plan for the Main Post including the Anza Esplanade. In addition the UCB Dept of Anthropology is currently administering and sponsoring a large private grant (Shaw Foundation), which includes funding for the new Coordinator of Public Programs for the El Presidio (Levantar) project at the SF Presidio. Finally, during the last two years Dr. Ashley and Professor Ruth Tringham have successfully taught summer session classes at the SF Presidio (Anthropology 136i and Anthropology 136e), establishing a small multimedia center as part of the Presidio Archaeology Lab and thus making contributions to their digital resources. The Presidio archaeologists are very keen for us to continue this educational program.

The course will be on "New Media and Cultural Heritage" and will focus on the real world challenge of creating interpretive walks and other installations for the public that involve wireless technology, digital geomapping, storytelling etc, globally and, specifically, at the El Presidio fort and the de Anza trail (the Levantar Project), which is the current focus of research of the Archaeology Group at the SF Presidio. The course will involve the design, field trial, and documentation of these different formats of representation of cultural heritage places. The aim is to seek alternatives to permanent markers of information about places, leveraging different forms of digital media. The course will take advantage of the many specialists in these technologies in the Bay Area with whom we have contact and who have offered to contribute their help to the course (CyArk, Cultural Heritage Imaging and others). It will also build on our own research in the Remediated Places project at Catalhöyük and the SF Presidio.

Students will participate in all parts of the process of creating these installations, from initial research, through design, development and production. Coursework will include: