INFO 146: Foundations of New Media

Department: School of Information
Instructor: Dilan Mahendran dilan (dot) mahendran (at) gmail (dot) com
Office Hours: Thursdays 2-4pm (rm 2. South Hall)
Class Meetings: June 23rd - August 13th 2009
Tuesday 9am-12:30pm rm 202 South Hall
Thursday 9am-12:30pm rm 210 South Hall (Computer Lab)

Course Overview:

The goal of this course is to introduce students to the study of technologies based upon the innovation of computation that emerged in the middle of the 20th Century. New Media's overarching charter cannot simply be reduced to the emergence of the digital computer but rather, 'what it means to be human' with the ubiquity of New Media technologies in modern life. New Media's scope is incredibly broad, as computational machinery has today reached a critical mass within all spheres of life and culture in the West. Therefore it is necessary to introduce a multidisciplinary perspective on New Media through key theoretical and philosophical reflections that have established it as a field of study. This will include perspectives from the humanities, social sciences, computer science and engineering. Along with providing a foundation in New Media theory we will critically examine and experiment with New Media technologies themselves. Working with New Media technologies in a structured lab environment will enable students to apply theories and perspectives from New Media theory to their own critical evaluations of concrete New Media technologies.