Course Texts:
Hansen, Mark. Bodies in Code: Interfaces with Digital Media. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Mitchell, Robert. Bioart and the Vitality of Media. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2010.
Munster, Anna. Materializing New Media: Embodiment in Information Aesthetics. Hanover: Dartmouth College Press, 2006.
Smith, Marquard, Ed. Stelarc: The Monograph. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005.
Additional texts will be provided on the UW ACE course management site. See the Schedule page for details.
Instructor: Professor Marcel O'Gorman
Office Hours: Fri. 2:00-4:00 & by appointment - NB: Office Hours may sometimes be held at the Critical Media Lab
Office Location: Hagey Hall 258
Phone: 519 888 4567 x32946
Email: marcel at uwaterloo dot ca
About this course
Over the
past fifty years, cybernetics and bioengineering have led us to the
view the body as an assemblage of micro-parts that can be controlled
at will. This technoscientific rhetoric threatens the notion of a self-possessive,
liberal humanist subject, and leads us to believe that both our identity
and our destiny lie in technological progress, which will culminate
in either a utopian virtual experience and/or physical immortality.
Today, mundane technologies such as video games and the Internet lure
us into forgetting about our bodies altogether, which pale in comparison
to the infinite flights of fancy offered by digital embodiment. But
in spite of the discourse on progress and disembodiment that characterizes
technoculture, many course readings discuss the stubborn persistence of human embodiment. This course will explore the relationship between technology, from its most philosophical sense to its more material instantiations.
We will
approach the problem of "cybering the body" by examining critical
theories of embodiment and digital art projects that explore the body in various contexts, from cyberspace to the bio lab. In addition to the typical essay and seminar presentation, students will prepare a critical digital art project, or rather, a critical "object-to-think-with." To this end, the course will be a combination of seminar study and creative production, all in the studio setting of the Critical Media Lab.Students in this course will benefit from computing resources in the Critical Media Lab (PowerMac workstations, MacBook Pro laptops, video cameras, physical computing tools, etc.). In fact, students will be preparing their project for the Critical Media Lab (CML), in collaboration with THEMUSEUM of Kitchener. This project is funded by Libro Financial, and it will also involve students in ENGL 293: Introduction to Digital Media Studies, also taught by O'Gorman. Finally, this class will be interacting with the CML visiting Artist/Researcher, Nick Rombes.
About the CML:
The Critical Media Lab is a research/creation unit that uses new media to examine the imacts of technology on society and the human condition. To this end, the CML supports funded research projects, organizes digital art exhibitions, collaborates with local arts and technology groups, and sponsors an annual Visiting Artist/Researcher Program. The CML is located on the 2nd floor of THEMUSEUM, 10 King Street West in Kitchener. An additional studio location will be added this winter at 156 King Street West in Kitchener, next to Artery Gallery. The CML director is Marcel O'Gorman.
A Required Message on Academic Integrity:
Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm
Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm
Academic Integrity website (Arts): http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/arts/ugrad/academic_responsibility.html
Academic Integrity Office (University): http://uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/
Accommodation for Students with Disabilities:
Note for students with disabilities: The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each academic term.
