Design, Technology, and Representation

LCC 6312 | Spring 2010 | Harrell

Instructor: Professor Fox Harrell

Office: Skiles 16
Office Hours: Monday, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (or by appt.)
Email: fox.harrell@lcc.gatech.edu

Course Meetings: Monday, Wednesday, 10:05 – 11:55 p.m. Skiles 10, Friday (Lab/In-
class work) 9:35 – 10:55 a.m. Skiles 346;

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is a seminar style course exploring the social and historical contexts of technologies
of representation ranging from orature (oral literature) to computer programming
languages, the nature of technological literacies, and uses of technology to represent
social identities. Student work consists of both critical analyses and the creation of
digital artifacts.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This course should facilitate development of the following skills:
• Design of digital media artifacts including video, technologies for social
interaction, and technologies with particular social niches
• Analysis of media artifacts from a cross-medial perspective
• Analysis of media artifacts based upon the technical literacies required to
utilize/communicate with them
• Use the theories and works presented in this course to frame and support
discussions social identity as mediated through digital technologies of
representation
Put another way, you should be able to “create” and “think about” design of technologies
of representation in a more skilled, knowledgeable and critical manner that takes social
contexts and identities into account. This should further your capabilities as both digital
media producers and scholars.

Two themes will be woven through the course. These are: (1) media do not exist in
hierarchical relationships to each other, their histories are interwoven, multivalent, and
contextual (2) technologies mediate, replicate, and transform our social identities, they
are not a unidirectional force influencing our social representations.

LCC 6312 | Design, Technology, and Representation | Spring 2010 | Harrell 1

GRADING & COURSE WORK
The total grade for the class will be based upon the following factors and weights:
20% Class participation (including presentations and discussions)
20% Exercises, short papers
40% 2 Group Projects (including individual essays grounded in theory with clearly
indicated contributions by group members)
20% Final Project

ATTENDENCE & PARTICIPATION

Class attendance and participation is mandatory. Participation in class discussion is
imperative because it allows you to explore the texts and themes collaboratively, and in
the process, discover meanings and issues that you probably would not discover on your
own. Participation in class also challenges you to continuously question, refine and
articulate your own ideas and interpretations.

In addition, much of this class is based on critiques, which require full participation and
cannot be replicated outside of class. Critiques are a central aspect of a studio culture.
Extensive teaching and learning occur through critiques: it is through critiques that you
will develop your skills for both creating and discussing designs.

Missing more than two classes (unexcused) will result in a loss of one letter grade.

PRESENTATIONS
On Mondays, students will facilitate discussion of the week’s readings. These facilitations
will be done by students working in pairs and will last the class session. Everyone must
do the readings, so do not just think of the presentations as reading summaries. You will
create presentations to create dialogue about crucial concepts in the readings. You will
come up with discussion questions, examples of artifacts, and (fun) activities for the class
to engage in.

For presentations, the presenting pair must submit to me via email a 1-2
page summary of the readings and set of questions/activities for class
discussion by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the presentation. As
necessary, I will respond to the summary and questions to approve or
suggest changes. Submit your final presentation material to T-Square under
the assignment called “Student Presentations.”

It is not enough to merely bring in a examples without having critically thought about
them in advance, there must be clear evidence of analysis and a set of focused questions
and/or activities for the class to engage. The presentation should draw upon the relevant
theory in the course (aligned with the weekly reading if possible) and the presenters’
unique academic backgrounds and experiences.

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REQUIRED TEXTS
You are required to purchase the following book. All other texts will be provided to you
either as printouts or pdfs. This book is available from a variety of online booksellers.
Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences, Bowker and Star
You may also wish to purchase the following books.
Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, Lakoff
Changing Minds, DiSessa

COURSE SCHEDULE:
*Weekly mandatory reading assignments are available via T-Square or can
be found in the required textbook*

In general, we will have students present and facilitate discussion on theoretical readings
on Mondays. We will have critiques or student facilitated discussion of media artifacts on
Wednesdays. Sign up for discussion slots is to be done on the wiki section of the course
T-Square page. Required readings are to be completed before class each Monday.

What follows is an outline for the course. As the course progresses, additional specific
readings and media artifacts for analysis will be posted to T-Square. Additional
exercises/papers will be announced as the course progresses as necessary.
Unit 1: Introduction – Complicating Media Hierarchies and Histories
January 11 – 15 Technologies and Orality/Literacy: Aural and Visual Culture
Exercise 1 Assigned (Due 1/20): Create an “oral” digital work in which no spoken word is
used.
Readings:
• “Biases of the Ear and Eye ‘Great Divide’ Theories, Phonocentrism,
Graphocentrism & Logocentrism,” Chandler
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/litoral/
• “Cultural Roots for Computing,” Harrell
http://cse.ucsd.edu/~fharrell/pps/Harrell-DAC-2007.pdf

January 18 – 22 Digital/Analog Technologies

January 18th is a holiday
Exercise 1 Due 1/20
Exercise 2 Assigned (Due 1/27): Create a cinematic “micronarrative” (a very concise,
poignant causal event between actors and objects in a social situation) that features a
single type of interaction that affects how the story is told that is either:
1) A screen-based work using Flash or Processing and non-digitally produced visual
assets, or
2) A physically instantiated work (e.g. a comic, sculpture, or performance) using
digitally produced visual assets to create.
Readings:

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 • Remediation, Introduction and Chapter 1, Bolter and Grusin
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262522799intro1.pdf
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262522799chap1.pdf
• “Speaking in Djinni”, Harrell
http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=388

Unit 2: Specific Forms of Media Representation

January 25 – 29 The Still Image/Collage/Manipulated Images
Exercise 2 Due 1/27
Project 1 Assigned (Due February 24th)
Readings:
• “Photography, Or the Writing of Light,” Baudrillard
http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=126
• “The Paradoxes of Digital Photography,” Manovich
http://www.manovich.net/TEXT/digital_photo.html
• “Montage: John Heartfield. John Heartfield and photography as a weapon”
(catalogue images)
www.edlund-books.com/Heartfield1.pdf

February 1– February 5 Film/Video/Digital Cinema

Readings”
• Anatomy of the Action Picture, Bordwell
http://www.davidbordwell.net/essays/anatomy.php
• Film Art, Chapter 1, Bordwell
http://highered.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073535060/410534/Bordwell_Ch01.pdf
• “The Future of Video Art in the Digital Age,” Cavallo Collins
http://www.chart.ac.uk/chart2000/papers/noframes/cavallo-collins.html

February 8 – 12 Project Critique

No Class February 8th
Project 1 In-Progress Critique February 10th

February 15 – 20 Computer Games

Readings:
• Persuasive Games, Chapter 1, Bogost
• Rules of Play, Chapters 7-8, Salen and Zimmerman

February 22 – 26 Definitions of Media Literacy/Critical Literacies

Project 1 Due 2/24

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Project 2 Assigned (Due March 17th)
Readings:
• What They Don’t Learn in School, Chapter 1, Chapter 6, Mahiri, Trainor
• Changing Minds, Chapter 1, diSessa

March 1 – March 5 Remix Culture: Case Study 1

Project 2 In-Progress Critique March 3rd (and March 8th as necessary)
Readings:
• “Rebirth of a Nation,” Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky)
http://djspooky.com/articles/rebirth.html
http://djspooky.com/art/birth.html
• Remix Culture, Chapter 1, “piracy,” Chapter 2, Lessig
http://www.authorama.com/free-culture-2.html
• wikipedia entry on ‘remix’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remix

March 8 – 12 Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) Culture: Case Study 2

Readings:
• Assembling Reality: Myths Of Computer Graphics, Manovich
http://www.manovich.net/TEXT/assembling.html
• Personal History of CGI, Machover (1978 - IEEE Computer)
http://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/PDFs/machover.pdf
• CGI Training for the Entertainment Industry, Morie
http://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/PDFs/jmorie.pdf

Unit 3: Social Identity Across Digital Technologies of Representation

March 15 – 19 Social Identity in Digital Media

Project 2 Due March 17th
Readings:
• “Computational Infrastructures of Stigma,” Harrell
• My Avatar, My Self (Ch. 1, 2), Waggoner
• “Datascape: A Synthesis of Digital and Embodied Worlds,” Kabisch

March 22 – 26 Spring Break

March 29 – April 2 Cultural Identity Theory and User profiles

Final Project Assigned (Due April 23rd )

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Readings:
• Sorting Things Out, Introduction, Chapter 1
• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-politics/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_performativity
• Follow the threads in the above to explore one of the following three concepts in
more depth as they relate to identity: essentialism, constructivism, performativity

April 5 – April 9 Infrastructures of Identity Technologies

Readings:
• Sorting Things Out, Chapter 6, Chapter 9
• Cybertypes, Chapter 5, Nakamura

April 12– 16 Social Worlds and Communities

Final Project In-Progress Critique April 14th (and April 19th as necessary)
Readings:
• What Do Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy, Chapter
3, Chapter 6, Gee
• “THE VIRTUAL BARRIO @ THE OTHER FRONTIER,” Guillermo Gómez-Peña
http://67.43.164.180/magazine/articles/gomezpena/gomezpena.html

April 19 – 23 Cognitive Categorization

Readings:
• Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, Preface, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 5,
Lakoff

Unit 4: Conclusion – Final Projects

April 23 – 30 Final Project Presentations and Summary Discussion
Final Project Due April 23rd and 25th as necessary

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
How should I contact you?
You can contact me during office hours, or over email. When sending email be sure to
put “6312” somewhere in the subject header so that I can filter your messages. If
you have a long question it is best to discuss it during office hours. If you have a course
conflict with office hours then send me an email indicating the conflict and we can
schedule an individual meeting.

Computer Usage Policy: Computers should only be used during designated in class
work sessions. Laptops may be used for note taking, however web surfing will result in a
significant penalty to your Participation grade.

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Cell Phone Policy: Please turn your cell phones off, cell phones ringing in class will
result in penalties to your Participation grade.

Drop Deadline: March 5th

Honor Code and Plagiarism Policy:

Plagiarizing is defined by Webster’s as “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of
another) as one’s own : use (another's production) without crediting the source.”
If caught plagiarizing, you will be dealt with according to the GT Academic Honor Code.

You are allowed (and encouraged) to discuss all coursework with other students, as long
as you develop and present your own design solutions (aside from group projects). You
are also allowed (and encouraged) to ask me questions, although you should try to think
about the design problems before asking.

Use of any previous semester course materials is allowed for this course; however, I
remind you that while they may serve as examples for you, they are not guidelines for
any of your own creative design work that may be assigned during the semester.

For any questions involving these or any other Academic Honor Code issues, please
consult me or www.honor.gatech.edu.

LCC 6312 | Design, Technology, and Representation | Spring 2010 | Harrell 7