USC School of Cinema Television
Critical Studies
CTCS 505
Survey of Interactive Media: Interactivity in the Age of Electronic Media
Professor: Julian Bleecker (bleecker _at_ usc _dot_ edu)
Units: 2
This course is a survey in forms of interaction and interactivity with a particular emphasis on the age of electronic media. Through readings, films, discussions, projects and writing, students will be exposed to a wide variety of activity that falls within the expression ³interactivity in the age of electronic media.² Students will also come to appreciate the complex ways in which interactivity is situated historically, and develop fluency with the important associated pragmatic, cultural, political and philosophical issues.
Ultimately, the purpose of this class is to allow students to develop a comprehensive language within their own respective idioms ‹ whether film production, critical studies, film writing, interactive media, or technology design ‹ so that interactivity can play a fertile role in their creative, analytic, design or production-oriented projects.
Requirements:
Essay / Project
Either an essay (approximately 3000+ words, quality trumps quantity) or the development and execution of a ³project² is a requirement for the class. Depending on a students skills, interests and capabilities, a project can be cinematic (e.g. film or video), game-based (e.g. Flash-based game), theatrical (enacted performance), and so forth. In all cases, the outcome should indicate that the student is able to synthesize the idioms, concepts and approaches to interactivity developed in the course. Students should be prepared to spend 10-15 minutes presenting their final essay or project in class.
Students are strongly encouraged to discuss their ideas for this final requirement earlier rather than later.
Collaborations are allowed and encouraged so long as students indicate roles and responsibilities for each team member prior to commencing their writing or project development.
Participation
Given the size of the class, most days will take the form of a lecture, although participation is certainly allowed and encouraged. Students are very strongly encouraged to set up their own Blog to capture reading and film notes. Alternatively, if you have a Blog already, set aside a category or index on their Blog to point to notes for CTCS505. (Please email to the Professor and TAs the URL for your Blog.)
Readings Key:
(C) Complete book
(S) Selections from a larger work
(E) Essay which typically means 10 30 pages
(O) Optional reading meant to introduce additional
insights on a topic
(S O) Selections from an optional reading
Week 1 August 26
1 - Course Introduction
Viewing: Merchants of Cool (Rushkoff / Frontline)
Q: Interactivity So..what?
Week 2 September 2
1 - Left To Our Own Devices
Reading: Techniques of the Observer (Crary) (C)
Film: They Live (Carpenter)
Q: What are the roles of the various players in an interactive context? Who is speaking, and who is being spoken to? How do these roles shift? What are the relationship of power that arise in an interactive context? Who has control?
Week 3-4 September 9, September 16
2 - Digital Interaction and Art
(1) Reading: Digital Currents: Art In the Electronic Age (Lovejoy) (S Ch. 5-6)
(1) Reading: Introduction to net.art (E)
(1) Guest Presentation: D. Jean Hester
(2) Reading: Web
Work A History of Internet Art (Greene)
(E)
(Alternate URL: Web Work: A History of Internet Art)
(2) Reading: Multimedia: From
Wagner to Virtual Reality Pioneers (Packer
/ Jordan) (E)
(2) Reading: New Media from
Borges to HTML (Manovich) (E)
(2) Guest Presentation: Mark Allen / Machine Project
Q: How does interactivity operate in an artistic context? When and how does interactivity become an artistic endeavor? What kinds of conceptual frameworks create semantic weight within interactive engagements and entanglements?
Week 5-6 September 23, (September 30)
2 - Signals and Systems
(1) Reading: Protocol
(Alexander Galloway) (S
Foreward, Ch.1-3, Ch.5)
(2) Reading: The Language of New Media (Lev Manovich) (S Foreward, Section 1, Section 6)
(1) Film: Tron
(2) Film: Videodrome
Q: What are the conceptual frameworks for creating and producing ³new media² forms of interactivity? What kinds of institutions of power and creative production are involved in defining what will and will not count as interactivity? How are existing forms of media and communication such as film, advertising, radio and made ³interactive?²
Week 7-8 October 7, October 14
2 - Pervasive Interaction Unbound
(1) Reading: Cybercities
(Stephen Graham) (S
Introduction to Section I; ³The Co-Existence of Cyborgs² Luke; ³Space of
Flows..² Castells; ³Gender and Landscapes of Computing..² Wakeford; ³Speaking
Mobile..² Kopomaa)
(2) Reading: Digital Ground (McCollough) (S - Part I, Ch. 7, Ch. 8)
(2) Reading: Cosmicomics (Calvino) (C Opt)
(1) Film: Timecode
Q: How does ³space² and ³place² assume a role in defining the possibilities for forms of interactivity? What are possible ways in which interactivity can make use of physical structures, links between geographically disparate locations, virtual representations, proximity and location?
Week 9-10 October 21, October 28
2 - Reality and the Special Effect of Interactivity
(1) Reading: The Reality Effect: Film Culture and the
Graphic Imperative (Joel Black) (S Opt Introduction, Ch. 7)
(1) Reading: Life Itself (Franklin) (E)
(2) Reading: The Virtual Reality Effect (Bleecker) (E)
(2) Reading: Pandora¹s Hope: Essays on the Reality of Science Studies (Bruno Latour) (S Opt Ch. 1, Ch. 2)
(1) Film: Jurassic Park
(2) Guest Presenter: Michael Lew / USC IMD
Q: In a world where the word ³reality² has had its substantive meaning elided by such things as ³reality television², particular styles of film and video production, and marketing/development strategies that ³discover² the next ³American Idol² how do we know who or what is real? What are the forms of technological, production, marketing, and audience interactivity that go into producing the appearance of ³reality?²
Week 11-12 November 4, November 11
2 Gaming and Interactivity
(1) Reading: Getting The Reality You Deserve (Bleecker) (E)
(2) Reading: Rules of Play (Zimmerman et. al.) (S)
(1) Viewing: Red v. Blue
Q: Why do we think ³computer game² when we think of interactivity? What are the modalities of interactivity in the context of games (digital or not, computer-based or not), and how do they differ from other forms of interactivity? What are the ways in which gaming and interactivity play off of one another? Why do games have to be interactive?
Week 13 November 18
1 - Social Software corante.com,
Reading: Smart Mobs (Rheingold)
(S, Ch.2, Ch.5, Ch.7)
Reading: http://www.corante.com/many/archives/2004/05/22/iftf_a_new_literacy_for_cooperation.php
Q: How can interactivity create possibilities for social interactivity, in terms of extending human agency, stretching the realm of social communication, and establishing mechanisms for creating more habitable, sustainable social worlds?
Week 14 December 2
1 Student Essay / Project Presentations
Final Essay / Project 60%
Blog Notes 10%
Final Presentation 30%
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure that the letter is delivered to the Professor as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30am - 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
The School of Cinema-Television expects the highest standards of academic excellence and ethical performance from USC students. It is particularly important that you are aware of and avoid plagiarism, cheating on exams, submitting a paper to more than one instructor, or submitting a paper authored by anyone other than yourself. Violations of this policy will result in a failing grade and be reported to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs. If you have any doubts or questions about these policies, consult SCAMPUS and/or confer with the Professor or Department Chair.