DXARTS 200: Digital Art and New Media - History, Theory and Practice

Instructor
Stephanie Andrews, Assistant Professor
stephnet@u.washington.edu
Office Hours - 2:30 to 4pm, Wed, Raitt 207

TAs
Eunsu Kang eskang@u.washington.edu
Office Hours - Mon 10:00-1:00, Raitt 132
Hugo Solis Garcia hugosg@u.washington.edu
Office Hours - By Appointment
Heather Raikes hraikes@u.washington.edu
Office Hours - 9:30-10:20, Mon and Wed, Raitt 132

Lecture MW 8:30-01:20 Mary Gates Hall 389
Section AA - F 8:30-9:20 MGH 295 (TA: Raikes)
Section AC - F 8:30-9:20 MGH 284 (TA: Kang)
Section AB - F 9:30-10:20 MGH 284 (TA: Kang)
Section AD - F 9:30-10:20 MGH 231 (TA: Raikes)
Section AE - F 8:30-9:20 MGH 242 (TA: Solis Garcia)
Section AF - F 9:30-10:20 SAV 216 (TA: Solis Garcia)

SYLLABUS

Please note that this information is subject to modification as the course progresses.

DESCRIPTION

The future of art has always been a matter of critical concern, as the role of the artist within society shifts and aesthetic sensibilities become transformed. Science can provide strong insights into methods for understanding these mutations, for example through looking at Kuhn’s notion of paradigms, Einstein’s theory of relativity or Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. This course analyses examples from art, science, technology, sociology and philosophy in order to provide students with the means to establish their own vision of what digital media can become, from both a practical and a theoretical perspective. It focuses upon the methodologies and ideologies that underpin our current understanding of digital art, approaching it as a multi-dimensional array of related possibilities. Students are asked to use this grounding as a stimulus to speculate about new, emerging art forms, and in the process take their first step towards inventing the boundaries of future art practice.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND REQUIREMENTS

Attend all lectures (Monday + Wednesday each week)
Attend all Friday seminars
Complete weekly reading assignments
Participate in class discussions
Complete weekly homework tasks as assigned: late work will not be accepted
Complete final project: late work will not be accepted

PROJECTS

Although there is no mid-term or exam for this class, it requires a serious commitment from students in order to do well. The work-load it involves is intensive, but worthwhile. A great deal of conceptual territory is covered which, combined with a student's willingness to participate and think innovatively, will result in an extremely valuable learning experience. It's very important to engage with the class on a weekly basis and keep up with homework tasks. Cumulatively, these count for a substantial part of your grade.

Final Project
The final project for this class is described as follows:

All students must complete a web based mini proposal of an imaginary artwork 50-100 years in the future. It should be richly illustrated, have an abstract, background, research, timeline, and budget section. The project seeks work that demonstrates imagination, work ethic, and an ability to assemble the course materials into a meaningful and profound set of possibilities of what might be.

The project must be web-based and will only be viewed and assessed online. Any students who do not know how to build a website should:

Look on the internet and find out how.
Email your TAs to request help.
Ensure they have done the above in the first half of the quarter.

Students are also recommended to visit the Educational Partnerships and Learning Technologies Department website, which has information about free web-building workshops that are available to students. It is your responsibility to learn how to create a web page. There are many tools and options available. Please note: your files must be web files (.html, .swf, .dcr, .jpg, .gif, etc.); Word (.doc) files are not acceptable.

Information about the University of Washington's computing labs can be found at:

http://depts.washington.edu/sacg/facilities/labs/software.shtml

You can download a free 30-day trial version of Adobe GoLive here.

http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/main.jsp

Homework
Each week students will also be set a task that they should complete in time for the seminar session on Friday. The task will be described in the Monday lecture and will also be available online ahead of time. The tasks will include such things as writing, databasing, mapping, researching, and creating. This homework is not optional: it must be submitted in the seminar session, and you will receive an overall grade for your homework. The homework will be assessed as a body of work, and grading for the homework will be based upon your ability to relate the theoretical, practical and discursive elements of the class together within the work that you hand in.

Reading
In addition, each week there will be a number of short readings to be completed. These are also required: you need them to participate in the class discussions and to succeed in the homework tasks. Some reading assignments will be available as library eReserves in pdf format and references to online resources.

There is also a REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Information Arts by Stephen Wilson, available at the UW Bookstore.

GRADING

Participation at lectures/seminars will be weighted approximately 20% of the overall grade. This included discussion, questions, and maintaining an active engagement with all aspects of the class.
Completion of homework tasks will be weighted approximately 40% of the overall grade.
The final project will be weighted approximately 40%.
Late work will not be accepted.

POLICIES

No smoking in the lecture theater, classroom or building.
Back up your data. No excuses for losing essays, web documents, images, etc. Keep at least three copies of everything: one on your hard drive, one on a CD, and one somewhere else just in case.
Please do not read email or surf the web during lectures and discussions - it's distracting to all of us, not just you!
If you have a disability that you think may impact your participation in this class, please contact Disabled Student Services. Every effort will be made to accommodate your needs.