GiThesis

This repo hosts my Master's Thesis in Information Science and Digital Art History.

Archive Ether: Metadata Mapping and the Preservation of New Media Art.

General Idea

Everything I've ever written is a draft. Arguably, so is everything on the internet. Or, it should be, because everything could be better. My thesis is no different.

This repo hosts my thesis as it stands currently, but because my topic (New Media art Preservation) is so very mutable, and the field so consistently infused with new genius, I want to post it rather than publish it as potential starting point for continuous iteration. I'm not that special, but I'm often surrounded by special people, and I expect my successors in academia will be moreso. I think all theses should be versioned even after submission. /rant

Background

"I write all my findings on single little sheets, of which I make sixteen each from each sheet of paper..."
~ Johann Moser

My background is varied and now I write code but I used to do chemical preservation of photos, and before that I wrote a fair amount about 18th century french philosophy, politics and printmaking. I've switched academic foci but most of my current ideas about drafting are informed by an 18th century philosopher with whom I share a namesake.

I'm a big fan of the fractalization of concepts, and I consider this githesis exercise to be indistinct from Moser's own project to collecting a "box of excepts" or notecards to catalog and coordinate thoughts (also, ps, Moser-Moser namesake echo, FTW). Some of my thesis addresses this fascination with fractals, tesselations and self-replicating patterns by way of mise-en-abyme logic and quine computing. Case studies within my thesis emphasize the peculiar challenges of building archival records and conservation practice for a rapidly obsolete genre of generative, net-based, and new media art. The quest to build an archive that can accomodate New Media is ongoing; it seems logical that I allow others to correct and contribute as media art evolves.

I'm archiving the paper in a editable digital and well as print version.

Table of Contents

This repo hosts 6 folders and a README.md.

"aure_text" hosts my original text as a .docx and .pdf;
"bibliography" splits out the bibliographic section of this text;
"edits" is the folder for new additions/user contributions;
"imgs" includes the image portion of the thesis (also open to additions);
"notes" hosts some of the Richard Rinehart interview notes;
"proof" shows my thesis acceptance form. Pretty much everything is open to versioning but please note it in your commit comment.

The text itself looks separates into a few sections and chapters, notably the following:

.: Archive Ether: An Introduction
.: Chapter I: Mapping the Archive: Conserving New Projects in Post-Medium Art
.: Chapter II: Model ARchives: The Mise-en-Abyme of New Media
.: Chapter III: Preservation Issues for Meta-media Art: Case Studies in Archival Ephemera
.: Chapter IV: Future-PErfect Preservation
.: Aestetic of Obsolescence: A Conclusion .: Bibliography
.: Appendix: Images

How edits work

Clone the repo and initiate an edit

Edits will tag to your username and others can then branch from and rebase on your edits.

git clone git@github.com/auremoser/githesis.git git checkout -b Your_Username ?

View and contribute to submissions

Check the commit history and other branches. Add your changes and push to commit.

• Locate the repository on your computer: ~/?/githesis
• Open the document/editable for your desired edit in a text editor or word and add, contribute your text.
• Feel free to make it another color or italicize to mark your addition, but attribution is not obligatory should you opt for cowardly anonymity. Don't forget to add yourself to the title/author page as a contributor. :)
• Add your edit to the "edits" folder and prepare to commit your changes and request their incorporation into "auretext" (the original file)
• Feel free to add images to the "imgs" folder or any ancillary notes to the "notes" folder
• Please ping me if the README.md needs updating or as to be added to the project (auremoser@gmail.com)

Commit your changes

However you normally do it is fine, I'm not partial. If you want to CLI it, cool. If you want to go through the Github app cool.

For those new to Github the app might be the easiest gateway:

• Navigate to the repository view for the project: githesis
• Select the "Changes" Tab in the left sidebar to view uncommited changes.
• Select the files you want to commit, enter a brief but meaningful commit summary and select "Commit"
• To synce local changes with your repository on Github, select "Sync Branch."
• Log in to your account on github.com and navigate to the site repository.
• On the repo page, create a new Pull Request
• Add a message to describe your changes and submit the Pull Request

Quick Changes

If you have something simple to edit and don't want to go through the process, feel free to email me (auremoser@gmail.com) and request that I add you as a contributor so you can make simple changes on github.

Thanks

Thanks for reading. Feel free to skim/peruse/.gitignore this project. It's an experiment in how I anticipate all documents might be drafted in the future, "versioned writing" as per my friend JSVines's ideas on writing 2.0++. Don't hate, just make it better. I'll tag back with niceties. You can also check it ou on Figshare.

love and rockets