Professor
Sarah Drury | sdrury@temple.edu |
Tel: 1-7098
Office Hours: Tu & Th, 1:00-2:00 (AH 133) or by appointment (please confirm ALL appts. by email)
Fall
2006, FMA 196 / FMA 396, 3 credits | Tues 2:30–5:30pm
| Tuttleman 101
<timeline> | <course schedule>
INTRODUCTION
How did we arrive at our current state of networked, convergent media? This lecture course surveys the history, theory and practice of new media as communications media, popular media and art form. The course draws on a range of readings, websites and media materials to look into the cultural values embedded within media technologies and to explore the historical contexts from which today's technologies emerge. The computer will be studied as a vehicle that extends the body and senses, extends the mind, and extends cultural interaction. The course will look at many examples of new media art and practice, from the formerly-new media of early 20th century experiments to today's convergent media forms: from radio art, early cinema, telegraphy and television, to netart, hypertext, digital imaging, networked communities, digital cinema, virtual reality, cybernetics, robotics, ubiquitous computing, net activism and gaming.
The term “new media” is, by definition, a relative one. This
course will approach the “newness” of new media from two
different perspectives. The first is historical, looking at successive
milestones in the modern and post-modern development of media technologies
and studying the cultural impact of each new introduction; the first
half of the semester will be concerned with this historical perspective.
The second perspective is applications-based, focusing on specific media
and the ways that they shape and reflect human subjectivity, social systems
and cultural evolution in our current media landscape; the second half
of the semester will explore this applications-based perspective.
It is important to note that any history of New Media
is necessarily a construct: a narrative traced through the rhizomatic
space of multiple
histories, ideologies and views relating to the subject. For the purposes
of this course, we will define “new media” as media technologies
that exert a transformative force at the moment of their introduction
and adoption into general usage. Such “transformation” will
be understood as causing a social re-organization on a mass scale, either
in the interests of political and economic control or as an expansion
of human experience and capability. These two dynamics of new media technologies—control
and expansiveness—will be studied as interdependent.
GOALS OF THE COURSE
The purpose of this course is twofold: first, it is to expose students to a broad historical sampling of the theory and practice of new media; second, it is to engage each student in a thoughtful critical dialogue, through which he or she will explore, question and develop an individual persective in regard to current developments in new media art. Students will demonstrate their integration of the material presented through two short writing assignments, two multiple-choice exams, one formal class presentation and numerous in-class or online discussions and exercises. Students will be expected to attend all classes as active participants in discussion and in individual and group exercises.
ONLINE ACCESS
All students are expected to have frequent, dependable access
to the Internet, with a printer attached. Many of the readings and resources
for the class will be web-based. In addition, it is essential that you
have an active
Temple e-mail account, for e-mail communication with me
and with each other, and for access to the class Blackboard site. Other
non-Temple e-mail addresses will not be acceptable for the purposes of
this class. YOU MUST HAVE A WORKING TEMPLE E-MAIL ACCOUNT, AND
YOU MUST BE IN THE HABIT OF CHECKING IT REGULARLY. If you have any difficulties
in respect to either Internet access with printer, or with your Temple
e-mail account, please see me after the first class.
ONLINE RESOURCES
The course website can be found at <http://isc.temple.edu/sdrury/survey2006>.
In addition to this syllabus and other course information, this site
includes a New Media Timeline that
contains an eclectic sampling of historical facts and events, all hyperlinked
to URLs, all relating to the subject at hand. This Timeline is intended
for use as a jumping-off point for student research. While it now exists
in an initial state of completion, expect it to grow over the course
of the semester. Suggestions for additions are welcome. This Timeline
was put together in collaboration by Sarah Drury and Film/Media Arts
graduate student Jen Simmons, and was designed and produced by Jen Simmons.
In addition to this website, the class has a
Blackboard site, which will
be used for downloading assigned articles, and for e-mail and bulletin
board communications.
INSTRUCTOR CONTACT
The best way to reach me is by e-mail at sdrury@temple.edu. I generally check my e-mail
once a day, and frequently several times a day, and therefore will respond
quickly. On the weekends, response times may be longer due to research
activities. If you want to make an appointment to meet, please use e-mail
to do so. Even though there will be a sign-up sheet on my office door,
a sign-up appointment will not be confirmed until you have e-mailed me
and receive a reply.
READINGS
Readings will be drawn from the required text, The New Media Reader (see
below), from assigned websites and from articles posted on the class
Blackboard site. The New Media Reader is the basic text of the course,
and should be purchased
as soon as possible. While a number of copies are currently available at the Temple Bookstore, it is also available on Amazon.com and ships within 24 hours; therefore all students should have a copy
by the second class. If there is any reason that you cannot
purchase this book online or from a local bookstore, please see me at
the end of the first class.
Many of the readings for each class session are currently listed in
the Course Schedule for this class. However, given the scope of this
class
and its web-based format, additional readings may be assigned as the
semester progresses. You will be notified in class of any additional
readings at least one week before they are due; nevertheless, you are
expected to check the online Course Schedule regularly.
Required Text: The New Media Reader, Noah Wardrip-Fruin and
Nick Montfort, eds. MIT Press 2003. $45.
ISSUES OF DISABILITY
Temple University and this professor are committed to the elimination
of discriminatory obstacles that place students at a disadvantage on
the basis of disability. Any student who has a need for accommodation
based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss
the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability
Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex to assess and coordinate
reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
CLASS PARTICIPATION
The student writing assignments for this lecture course are relatively
light. While Mid-Term and Final Examinations will serve as one form of
assessing the student’s progress, there will be a number of assigned
and impromptu in-class student presentations, with students addressing
particular topics individually and in small groups. These presentations
and overall student participation are an essential part of the process
of understanding and integrating the material. Every effort will be made
to help prepare students for formal presentations and to facilitate informal
participation. Therefore participation is an important factor in assessing
the student’s grade.
ATTENDANCE & LATENESS POLICY
Attendance Policy: Three or more absences will affect your grade. Five
absences will result in a failing grade for the course. If you are going
to be absent, please inform me by e-mail at least 24 hours in advance.
If you are absent due to illness, please obtain a doctor’s note.
ABOVE ALL, KEEP ME INFORMED BY E-MAIL. If you are absent, it is YOUR
responsibility to contact another student for the class notes from that
day, and to make up any work in a timely fashion.
Lateness Policy: 3 latenesses of up to 10 minutes will be counted as
an absence. Being MORE than 10 minutes late will be counted as an absence.
If you are late, it is your responsibility to let me know when you come
into class that you are here.
GRADING
Student Research Presentation — 25%
Art & Technology History Essay (1,000 words) — 15%
Media & Concept Essay (1,000 words) — 15%
Mid-Term Exam — 15%
Participation (incl. all in-class and/or online exercises) — 30%
TOTAL — 100%