Art 175: Digital Arts Aesthetics

I was only given a few weeks to put this class together so some things are still sketchy.

Instructor Contact Information:
Jeff Knowlton 661-555-1212
**** This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
skype name: j***knowlton
j*** This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   - for projects only


Office Hours: unknown  
Office:             unknown

Meeting Time: unknown
Classroom:      Lab

Text:

Narrative Archaeology
Jeremy Hight

Beyond Locative Media
Marc Tutors.

The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age
AllucquèreRosanne Stone
ISBN-10: 0262193620  The MIT Press (July 16, 1995)

Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges
ISBN-10: 0141183845  Penguin Books Ltd; New Ed edition (September 7, 2000)

Simulacra and Simulation
Jean Baudrillard
ISBN-10: 0472065211   University of Michigan Press (February 15, 1995)

The long tail
Chris Anderson

Crafters manifesto
Ulla-Maaria Mutanen

Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings
Burton Watson
ISBN-10: 0231105959  Columbia University Press (April 15, 1996)

Neuromancer
William Gibson
ISBN-10: 0441012035  Ace Hardcover; 20th Annual edition (November 2, 2004)

Course Description:
This edition of Digital Arts Aesthetics will explore a number of artists, works, ideas and topics. Both theoretical and poetic approaches will be explored. While individual projects will be developed early in the class, collaborative projects will be possible later in the class at the instuctor's discretion. To that end the class would be structured as a small lab and broken up into several small working units. All students will be expected to colaborate and share equally in the projects undertaken by their group. To this end part of your grade will be evaluated by other students in your group:)

Students will be expected to synthesize many of the content-development skills acquired in previous course work and develop conceptual skills that will enable them to work independently of teacher direction on their own projects.


Attendance Policy:   
Please refer to the school's student attendance policy. Your projects must be turned in on time. A late project will result in grade reduction by one letter grade for that project. Projects and documentation should be emailed to j*** This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it as well as presented in class.


Data Retention:
Back up numbered versions of your work! Lost data is not an excuse for missing work. Projects, when applicable should be emailed to my gmail account. This class will have web hosting so that your projects will be freeze dried for posterity and export.


Student Conduct Policy:
Please refer to the school's student conduct policy. Don't freakin surf, email or chat. It damages my self esteem.

Student Evaluation/Methods of Assessment:

Grading is based on:

1) Attendance + participation - 20%

2) Projects:

    #1 - 15%
    #2 - 15%
    #3 - 15%
    #4 - 15%

4)Documentation website - 20%


Standard Content Disclaimer:
Some of the material we will cover may push some boundaries. Art is supposed to do that. If you feel that your boundaries have been breached, try to stick it out and see where things are going. If you need to leave the room, please write a one page paper explaining your reaction to the material.

Weekly Outline:

Week 1, Sept. 25:
Intro: Set the rules 
I was only given a few weeks to put this class together so things are flexible.

Lecture: A Brief History of media
Guttenberg , Shakeaspeare,  D. W. Griffith, Ted Nelson,  V. Bush, Tim Berners Lee
Jacquard loom, the census & Holerith, IBM, Xerox PARC, Apple

Week 2, Oct. 2:
Lecture: Locative Media
Lecture & Lab: Follow up on Locative Media and experiment with processes. Begin Project 1.

Readings: Narrative Archaeology  &  Beyond Locative Media

Week 3, Oct. 9:
Lecture: The Legacy of Conceptual Art
Lecture & Lab: Present Projects for Critique

Week 4, Oct. 16:
Lecture: Space is the Place
Space, Architecture, Sub space, Virtual space

Week 5, Oct. 23:
Lecture:  Identity
Reading:  The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age


Week 6, Oct. 30:
Lecture: Jorge Luis Borges:
The  Library of Babel, The Babylon Lottery, The Cartographers of the Empyre

Week 7, Nov. 6:
Lecture: Simulacra and Simulations

Week 8, Nov. 13:.
The LongTail  & The Crafter's Manifesto

Week 9, Nov. 20:
Lecture: Emergence
Terminator, Neuromancer
Help Cyc Learn
Distributed Systems
Orishas and Loas

Week 10, Nov. 27:
Lecture: Chaun Tzu

Week 11, Final week:
Present Final project and web site documentation. Class Critique,  Resolution.