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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "COM 311-1"
COURSE NAME: "Digital Media Culture"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring 2024
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Anthony Stagliano
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
TTH 1:30 PM 2:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisite: COM 220
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course provides students with a number of theoretical approaches to critically assess how digital media function and their expanding and expansive role in contemporary culture. The course further investigates digital media convergence in order to develop a critical lexicon that can both chart its development and engage in intellectual interventions in its use within the transformations occuring in more traditional cultural forms such as television, film, popular music, print, and radio. Special emphasis will be placed on the specific cultural, political, economic, and social issues raised by digital media forms.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The title to Albert Ayler’s 1964 album, “New York Eye and Ear Control,”
suggests the perfect description of what media are and how they work.
In the spirit of that phrase, “eye and ear control,” we will explore the many
ways that media systems (including language itself) operate to mediate,
control, extend, and complicate our means of perceiving, relating to, and
communicating with each other and the world. Meanwhile, though, in
examining the possibility that media actively control “our” eyes and ears,
we come up against the limits of anthropocentric approaches, and think
about centering the media themselves in our analyses.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
| This course provides students with a number of theoretical approaches to critically assess how digital media function and their expanding and expansive role in contemporary culture. The course further investigates digital media convergence in order to develop a critical lexicon that can both chart its development and engage in intellectual interventions in its use within the transformations occuring in more traditional cultural forms such as television, film, popular music, print, and radio. Special emphasis will be placed on the specific cultural, political, economic, and social issues raised by digital media forms. |
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TEXTBOOK:
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Attendance and Participation | | 15 |
| MIdterm Presentation | | 30 |
| Participation to 'Digital Delights & Disturbances' (DDD) lecture series | Students are required to attend 3 sessions of the lecture series during the semester and write a short reflection on each. A detailed calendar with dates & event description will be provided. | 5 |
| Proposal for Final Reasearch Paper | Students are required to submit a short (1-2 page) proposal for their final research paper, in the 10th week of the course. Further details and instructions will be provided. | 15 |
| Final research paper | Students are required to write a research paper related to the course material and present it in the class | 30 |
| Participation to DDD workshops | Students will have to attend one of the workshops offered by the DDD lecture series and write a short reflection on it. Calendar will be provided at the beginning of the semester. | 5 |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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Week 1: Course Intro/Syllabus
Readings: McLuhan, Selections from Understanding Media and the Gutenberg Galaxy
Week 2: What are (New) Media? What are digital media?
Readings: Manovich, Language of New Media, ch. 1, “What Is New Media?”
Screening: Wexler, Medium Cool
Sounding: Albert Ayler, “New York Eye and Ear Control”
Week 3: Language and/as Medium
Readings: Flusser, “Line and Surface”
Screening/Sounding: Hill, Soundings
Week 4: On the Materiality of Media(tion)
Readings: Kittler, Gramophone, Film, Typewriter (Introduction); Galloway, “The Computer as Mode of Mediation” (introductory chapter to The Interface Effect)
Screening: Minh-Ha, Reassemblage
Soundings:
Week 5: Technicity and Media Apparatus
Readings: Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Mechanical Reproducibility” Heidegger, “Question Concerning Technology”
Screening: Farocki, Images of the World and the Inscription of War
Soundings:
Week 6: The Dangerous Spectacle of Media
Readings: Wark, “Widening Gyres,” (Ch. 1 of The Spectacle of Disintegration); Baudrillard, “The Precession of Simulacra”
Screenings:
Soundings:
Week 7: Networks as Media (of Control)
Readings: Chun, Control and Freedom, introduction; Deleuze “Post-Script on Control Society”
Screenings: Curtis, All Watched over by Machines of Loving Grace
Bridle “New Aesthetic” (Tumblr)
Soundings: Week 8: In/Human Media and Mediating Humanness
Readings: Parikka, Insect Media, introduction
Screenings: Cronenberg, Videodrome; The Fly
Soundings:
Week 9: The Archive and/as Medium
Readings: Derrida, Archive Fever; Ernst, “Media Archaeography”
Screenings: Marker, Sans Soleil; Morrison, Decasia
Soundings: DJ Spooky, Girl Talk
Week 10: Identity, Gender, Race, and Self after the Internet pt 1
Readings: Chun, “Race and/as Technology, or How to Do Things to Race”; Galloway, “Does the Whatever Speak?”
Screenings: 8-Bit Philosophy, “Why Do We Take Selfies?”; Ulman, “Excellences &
Perfections” (Instagram performance art project);
Soundings: Mykki Blanco, “Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Princess”
Week 11: Identity, Gender, Race, and Self after the Internet pt 2
Readings: Russell, Glitch Feminism, Laboria Cuboniks, The Xenofeminist Manifesto
Week 12: Tactics and/of Media
Readings: Lovink, “ABCs of Tactical Media,” Critical Art Ensemble, The Electronic Disturbance
Screenings: Black Power Mixtape ; Electronic Disturbance Theater,
“Transborder Immigrant Tool”
Soundings:
Week 13: Mediating Politics and #Activism
Readings: Dean, Blog Theory ; Wark, “A Hacker Manifesto”; Wolfson, Digital Rebellion Occupy Wall Street documents; Black Lives Matter documents/tweets
Screening: Citizenfour
Soundings: Monáe/Wondaland Records, “Hell You Talmbout”
Week 14: Wearable Media and Biological Media
Readings: Thacker, “What Is Biomedia?”; Kac, “Life Transformation—Art Mutation”
Screenings: Harvey, “CV Dazzle” and “Stealth Wear” projects.
Soundings:
Week 15: Presentations and Course Wrap-Up
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