Syllabus

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Lecture Schedule

Daily Assignments & Readings

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Resources

 

 

 

 

      PSFA 330: Artistic Practice in the Digital Age
Spring Semester, 2003
School of Professional Studies and Fine Arts
San Diego State University

Location: Art 412
Mondays, 6:00 to 8:40 pm

Professor: Kim Stringfellow
Office: Art 214
Phone:
594-6766
Office hours: Tuesdays, 2 to 4 pm
E-mail: kstringf@mail.sdsu.edu
Urls: www.kimstringfellow.com

General Information

Survey of multidisciplinary artistic practice related to digital technologies with emphasis on works that encourage new media collaboration and interaction with audiences. Investigations of theoretical cultural issues pertinent to the discourse of art and technology that seek to depict, question, and transform our cultural landscape.

This course will explore contemporary case studies in art and technology through lectures, media analysis, selected readings, research presentations and papers, and group discussion. Students will have the opportunity to attend outside performances, exhibits and events related to the field held during the course of the semester.

Cultural producers incorporating digital technologies to investigate issues of identity and representation, the spiritual or personal, virtual vs. physical space, privacy, authorship, ethical implications of technology will be addressed. Works that analyze and critique media production & technology, cultural representations and political structures will also be discussed. We will overview alternative presentation methods and distribution strategies as well as remote and simultaneous collaboration though communications systems.

Lecture Schedule

Please refer to the lecture schedule for daily topics, specific readings and assignments.

Note: The instructor reserves the right to change or update the course lecture schedule at any time. Please refer to the schedule weekly for updates.

Required Books

  • Cyber Reader: Critical Writings for the Digital Era, Neil Spiller, Phaidon Press, ISBN: 0714840718 (required)
  • Required reader will be available at SDSU book store.
  • Information Arts : Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology, Stephen Wilson, MIT Press (highly recommended)

Homework/Reading Summaries:

Students must turn in weekly written summaries of assigned readings and specified lectures electronically via e-mail. Your summary should address key points of the assigned readings or lecture.

E-mail summaries must list the reading/lecture topic listed in the subject heading with the summary appearing directly into the body of the e-mail message. NO ATTACHED DOCUMENTS PLEASE! Summaries are due the day of the lecture discussion before our class meeting no later than 5 pm. REMEMBER TO KEEP HARD COPIES!

Each summary is worth 3 points. A minus= below average (1 pt), checkmark= average (2 pts) and plus= above average (3 pts). Late readings will be marked done accordingly (see grading policies below). The summaries equal 30 percent or 30 points of your total grade for this course.

Research papers

Papers should be word-processed or typed double-spaced listing footnotes or references including web urls. Students are expected to undertake research outside of the assigned readings. All papers should include printed visuals that list source material.

Note: You may choose to write your paper on one of the books excerpted in Cyber Reader.

Research paper/project requirements

One 6 to 8 page + oral presentation (1/4 of grade) due at end of semester -OR- project with written project statement due at end of semester, presented to the class.

Please note: Because this course is not a studio, the instructor will not provide technical assistance for projects.

Plagarism

Plagiarism is a serious offense, and may be punished by expulsion from SDSU, failure in this course, and/or zero credit for a specific assignment. Any time you present some one else's words or ideas as your own, you commit plagiarism. You are responsible for understanding what constitutes plagiarism, and for taking all necessary actions to avoid plagiarism.

Presentations

Research papers will require an oral presentation worth 1/3 of the total paper grade. The presentation itself should incorporate web site resources, images, audio and other multimedia sources and should be created with a multimedia presentation tool such as PowerPoint. BATS provides free, one-day classes in PowerPoint. No make ups for missed presentations!

Due Dates

Due dates, readings and assignments may change during the semester. You are responsible for any and all changes announced in class, even if you are not present. Please check course calendar for updates.

All work is expected to be completed by the due dates. Unless otherwise specified, work is due at the beginning of the class period.

If work is one class meeting late, the grade will be lowered by one letter grade.
If work is two class meetings late, the grade may be lowered by two grades.
If work is three or more class meetings late, the grade may be lowered by three grades.

If there is a problem in meeting a deadline, the instructor should be consulted in advance.

Class Participation

Emphasis of this course is both on completion of all assignments and class participation. Classroom interaction is vital to the learning process. Students will be expected to participated in all class activities. A grade will be given for class participation and involvement.

Attendance

Attendance to all class meetings is required and is directly related to class participation. We will be covering a lot of information over a short period of time. You should consult with a classmate if you plan or have missed a class or set up a meeting during the instructor's office hours. If there is a problem in attending a class, the instructor should be consulted in advance if possible.

Tardiness to class meetings is not tolerated as it disrupts the class in session. PLEASE ARRIVE ON TIME FOR ALL CLASS MEETINGS. If you need to arrive to a class period late (or need to leave early) notify the instructor prior to the scheduled class meeting.

Grading

Grades will be based on the following criteria:

Homework Assignments and completion of readings prior to class meeting
Conceptual development of thesis & ideas
Writing quality, depth
& skill
Class participation and involvement

Presentation (oral communication and/or written communication)
Organization
Timeliness & preparedness
Enthusiasm

Grading Breakdown:

10% - Course Participation (based on quality and quantity of attendance, discussion and discussion-leading)
30% - Weekly reading & lecture summaries
20% - Research Paper & Oral Presentation (paper + oral presentation is worth 1/4 of paper grade - No make ups!)
15% - Midterm Exam (multiple choice + essay exam based)
25% - Final Exam (multiple choice + essay exam)

A- Outstanding achievement, available only for the highest accomplishment. B- Praiseworthy performance, definitely above average. C- Average, awarded for satisfactory performance, the most common grade. D- Minimally passing, less than the typical undergraduate achievement. F- Failing. (Based on SDSU grading guidelines.)

Incomplete
An incomplete grade will only be granted for extenuating circumstances.

Classroom Rules

NO CELL PHONES OR PAGERS (please turn yours off before entering the classroom)
NO FOOD OR DRINKS IN CLASSROOM

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