Understanding Interactive Media

This seminar course is an introduction to interactive media as part of communication culture. Students critically examine how interactive media (and technology in a broader sense) change conditions of society and culture while being themselves shaped by economic and political forces. The course introduces students to a framework of argumentation and terminology which they will apply to analyze and critique examples of cultural and artistic expression in interactive media. With weekly readings, writing, presentations, discussions, and creative projects, the course lays the conceptual foundation to interactive media practice.

Every week we will look at a different aspect of interactive media. We start by listening to people who were pioneers, activists, artists, exporing that very aspect. We take their thoughts and experience as inspiration to venture off, to make our own sense of what the digital world really is. For every person featured, we have a video recording of a conversations of approximately 90 minutes. The conversations took place in 2020. All videos are fully transcribed and annotated. Additional readings will be provided.

Schedule

Work in progress - subject to change

Part I Paradise lost

1. Introduction - The utopian cyberspace

Douglas Rushkoff, "It is not us who have changed, it is the Internet"

Part II Activist space

2. Digital Zapatism

Ricardo Dominguez, "Digital Zapatism"

3. The Wet Space

Geert Lovink, "The Wet Space"

4. Black Net Art

Mendi and Keith Obadike, "Our Black.Net.Art Actions"

Part III Cyber Feminism

5. Cyberfeminism Index

Mindy Seu, "Cyberfeminism Index"

6. Sirens

Virginia Barratt and Francesca da Rimini, "The Sirens’ Syrinx"

7. Jugoslovenka

Jasmina Tešanović, "The Internet of Women Things"

Part IV Cyberpunk

8. Cyberpunk

Bruce Sterling, "This sense of wonder"

9. Wired

Jane Metcalf, "Electric Word"

Part V Cyber Poetics

10. Hypertext

JR Carpenter, "Send more than words ... EVERYONE LOVES PICTURES"

11. Slow Media

Sabria David, Joerg Blumtritt, "Slow Media Manifesto"

12. Art spaces

Ruth Catlow, "Place matters"

Part VI Transcending bodies

13. Cyborgs

Enno Park, "Exclusion, inclusion"

14. Biopunk

Heather Dewey-Hagborg, "Lovesick"

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^{Understanding Interactive Media by Joerg Blumtritt @jbenno@mastodon.social - Other classes I teach: github.com/jbenno}