Tactical Media @ ITP - NYU
Professor: Marisa Olson

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TACTICAL MEDIA CONFERENCE
Saturday, April 28, 2007

Presentations on the theory & practice of tactical media and contemporary protest art, by graduate students in the ITP program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

The presenters' talks will be grouped into three panels, to be moderated by their Professor, Marisa Olson (Editor & Curator, Rhizome), on the topics of Play & Consumption; Fear, Spectacle, and the Media; and the Interfaces and Architecture of Control. These panels will consist of both artist talks and analytical essays and audience members will be invited to give feedback on a few works in progress.

Venue: The Change You want to See Gallery
84 Havemeyer @ Metropolitan, Brooklyn, NY 11211
L to Bedford o Lorimer, G to Metropolitan, J/M/Z to Marcy
http://www.thechangeyouwanttosee.org

Hours: 12-5 pm, Saturday, April 28, 2007

Program:
12:00 Open Seating
12:15 Welcome & Introduction, Marisa Olson

12:30-2 Practicing Play & Consumption
Panelists: Kati London, Felipe Ribeiro, Tim McNerney, and Stefanie Wuschitz

2-3:30 Fear, Spectacle, and the Media
Panelists: Armin Cooper, Emery Martin, Anjali Patel, and Ben Yee

3:30-5 Interfaces & Architectures of Control
Panelists: Mushon Zer-Aviv; collaborators Nick Hasty, Josh Knowles, and Tim Stutts; and collaborators Kunal Gupta and Tristan Perich


About the venue:
The Change You Want To See is the gallery and convergence stage run by the activist arts collective Not An Alternative.
http://www.notanalternative.net

Well, we've been doing most of our chatting and updating via email, rather than the blog but I thought I'd make a post with the keywords we brainstormed at midterm...

public/ private space, control, body, real/ hyperreal, exploitation, utopia, voyeurism, panopticism, fear, terror, cells/ cullular, perception, power, parody, collaboration, resistence, capital, access, surveillance, fiction, appropriation, reproduction, replication, media, passivity, action, dynamism, change, networks, order, sustainability, transparency, (de)centralization, privacy, systems, simulacr(um), authorship, authority, hegemony, Ideological State Apparatuses & Repressive State Apparatuses, commodification, parasitism, code, remixing, hacking, pleasure, tactics religion, activism, everyday experience, strategies, ideology, morality, ethics, truth, representation, image, art, hybridization, spectacle, marginalization

Yes, we've discussed quite a bit!

In anticipation of Friday's class and the artist talk by Bill Brown, of the Surveillance Camera Players, you might want to look around at some other surveillance-related works. I'd definitely look up works by Julia Scher, Andrea Fraser, Ken Goldberg, Vito Acconci, Jill Magid, Cornford & Cross, Trevor Paglen, the Center for Tactical Magic, the Bureau of Inverse Technology, and Hasan Elahi. There really are SO many more. Feel free to bookmark some of your favorites, in del.icio.us, with our class tag: ITP_Tactical_Media

I'll be interested in discussing the aestheticization of surveillance versus its more tactical uses, vis a vis Foucault's notion of panopticism and our ongoing discussions about the aestheticization of politics vs the politicization of aesthetics, etc...

If you'd like to share links with the class, please tag del.icio.us bookmarks with "ITP_Tactical_Media," so that we can all see them here:

http://del.icio.us/tag/ITP_Tactical_Media

I suggest picking up an RSS feed for that page, and this one, if you've not already done so.

Thanks!

Each student will make a total of three presentations in class: A reading discussion; discussion of an artwork; and the mini-conference presentation of a paper or art project. Below is the schedule. Please review the syllabus notes on assignments for guidelines on these presentations.

Jan 26: Media Change and Theories of Value
Reading Presentation: Nick Hasty (Benjamin)

Feb 2: Intro to Critical Art Ensemble
Reading Presentation: Ben Yee

Feb 9: Surveillance
Reading Presentation: Tristan Perich
Art Presentation: Tristan Perich

Feb 23: Archives/ Data Visualization/ Mapping
Reading Presentation: Felipe Ribeiro (Zuniga); Josh Knowles (Baudrillard)
Art Presentation: Felipe Ribeiro; Josh Knowles

March 2: Parody & Parasitic Media
Reading Presentation: Marco Deseris (Nonrational Strategies...)
Art Presentation: Marco Deseris
Art Presentation: Kunal Gupta

March 9: Fear/ Terrorism
Reading Presentation: Armin Cooper (Baudrillard); Emery Martin (CAE)
Art Presentation: Armin Cooper; Emery Martin

March 23: Science
Reading Presentation: Tim McNerney (CAE); Katie London (subRosa)
Art Presentation: Tim McNerney; Katie London

March 30: Media as Medium/ Broadcast/ Transmission
Reading Presentation: Anjali Patel (Jameson)
Art Presentation: Anjali Patel; Nick Hasty

April 6: Hacktivism
Reading Presentation: Mushon Zer-Aviv (Galloway); Kunal Gupta
Art Presentation: Mushon Zer-Aviv; Ben Yee

April 13: Gaming & Play
Reading Presentation: Tim Stutts (deCerteau); Stephanie Wuschitz (Schleiner)
Art Presentation: Tim Stutts; Stephanie Wuschitz

In this class, we'll be reading a variety of theoretical texts, organized around weekly themes. Additional reading suggestions (non-required reading) will be presented in class. We will also look closely at art projects that relate to these themes and URLs / documentation of these works will be distributed in advance of class discussion.

This schedule is subject to change, and all updates will be posted here and announced in class.

Jan 19: Class introduction
What is tactical media? Discuss excerpts from Geert Lovink, Critical Art Ensemble, and Mackenzie Wark

Jan 26: Media Change and Theories of Value
Read "The Medium is the Message," from Understanding Media, by Marshall McLuhan; "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," from Illuminations, by Walter Benjamin

Feb 2: Intro to Critical Art Ensemble
Read Electronic Civil Disobedience, the first chapter of Critical Art Ensemble's book of the same name. (PDF) Review CAE's art projects, at http://www.critical-art.net

Feb 9: Surveillance
Read Panopticism, Chapter 3 of Michael Foucault's Discipline & Punish; read Streets into Stages: an interview with Surveillance Camera Players' Bill Brown, by Erich W. Schienke

Class visit by Bill Brown of SCP.

Feb 16 Class visits by Ryan Griffis and Trevor Paglen

Feb 23: Archives/ Data Visualization/ Mapping
Read The Work of Artists in a Databased Society: net.art as on-line activism, by Ricardo Miranda Zuniga; Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulations.

Class visit from members of Not An Alternative; 6pm general ITP lecture by Hasan Elahi

March 2: Parody & Parasitic Media
Read "Nonrational Strategies, from CAE's Electronic Civil Disobedience and PARASITIC MEDIA: Invisibility & other forms of Tactical Augmentation, by Nathan Martin

Also recommended: The Financial Advantages of Anti-copyright from Digital Resistance;

Class visit by Michael Mandiberg

March 9: Fear/ Terrorism
Read The Spirit of Terrorism, by Jean Baudrillard; excerpts from CAE's Molecular Invasion

March 16: Spring Break

March 23: Science
Read continued excerpts from CAE's Digital Resistance and Molecular Invasion; and additional selections from subRosa and Eugene Thacker

Class visits by Brooke Singer and Ricardo Miranda Zuniga

March 30: Media as Medium/ Broadcast/ Transmission
Read excerpts from Postmodernism, by Fredric Jameson

Class visit: Tianna Kennedy

April 6: Hacktivism
Read excerpts from Protocol, by Alexander Galloway

Class visit: Finishing School

April 13: Gaming & Play
Read: Countdown to Collective Insurgence: Cyberfeminism and Hacker Strategies, by Anne-Marie Schleiner; Excerpts from The Practice of Everyday Life, Michel de Certeau

April 20 - Student Mini-Conference
April 27 - Student Mini-Conference

This course will delve into the history and theory of tactical media, hacktivism, and other media-based protest arts... In the course of our readings and project reviews, we will ask ourselves a number of questions, such as:

What is the nature of change and how does our understanding of it shift as we examine social change alongside media "evolution" and changes in form (i.e. hacktivism)? Is there a relationship between creating disorder within a technological system and social disorder? And can this disorder be positive, in the case of "electronic civil disobedience"? Presupposing a relationship between computer code and social codes calls into question the larger nature and value of systems, and the means by which one might effectively change them. The political, phenomenological, and practical problems raised by this set of issues form the backdrop for this class, in which we will survey tactical media works developed since the 1980s, with an emphasis on work since the mid-90s. We'll look at artists' use of a variety of media--including the news media, the internet, locative media, surveillance techniques, genetic modification, software viruses, memes, live performance, the audience, and more--to carry out protests. We will also visit precursors to tactical media, including that which is typically referred to as "protest art" and important media intervention projects. The relationship between the evolution of communication media and the shift in tactics will be among our core concerns.

We'll hear from guest lecturers and read a combination of theoretical texts, seminal curatorial statements, manifestos, and mainstream press response to these interventions. An emphasis on media specificity will lead to discussions focused on design questions and other practical considerations, with regard to participants' own work. Assignments and guest lectures will be loosely grouped into themes, including Surveillance, Broadcast/ Transmission, Archives, Data Visualization, Mapping, Parody, Organizations, Transactions, Science & Biology, Media as Medium, Gaming, and Fear/ Terrorism. Students complete a series of writing exercises and oral presentations throughout the semester before completing a final essay or project.

Assigned readings should be brought to every class. Writing assignments are due in-class, at the beginning of the session on the specified due dates. No late or e-mailed papers will be accepted, and all papers must be typed and proofread, with numbered and stapled pages. Attendance is mandatory for all class sessions. Lateness is unacceptable. Students with two or more unexcused absences, or who fail to complete and turn-in all writing assignments on-time, will not pass the class.

A Note on Classroom Conduct:
If all goes as planned, this will be a very fun class with a lot of lively discussion. Students are expected to participate in class, not only by showing up but also by paying attention and contributing to discussions. While educated debate is encouraged, students are expected to be respectful of each others' work and ideas, to contribute constructive criticism as appropriate, and to generally contribute to the class by keeping up with the readings and assignments.

Students may not use portable devices at any time (including, but not limited to, cell phone conversations, text messaging, mp3 players, gameboys, gps devices, speak and spell, etch-a-sketch, etc). Students who are found to be sleeping or using their laptops to surf the internet, check email, or update their Myspace profiles, during class time, will be expelled from the classroom. In all seriousness, this class will be an opportunity to read some intriguing texts, review some great art, and to have very smart, engaging discussions about them. The atmosphere of the class will be that of a workshop in which we are all learning from each other. This will require your complete commitment.

A Note on Plagiarism & Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism will not be tolerated, under any circumstances. Students who plagiarize will automatically fail the class and it will be at the instructor's discretion to report the student to the university. There is no such thing as "only plagiarizing a little." Plagiarism includes stealing paper topics and the ideas of others, as well as specific language. If you have any questions as to what constitutes plagiarism or how to properly cite your colleagues or reference resources, see me and/or turn to these helpful online resources:

http://www.reshall.berkeley.edu/academics/resources/plagiarism/
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Citations.html

Attendance and class participation will constitute 50% of your grade. The remaining 50% will be determined according to your performance in each of the following assignments.

Readings: Students will be assigned readings and creative projects to review. All students should be prepared to discuss all readings and projects, every week.

Reading Response Paper & Presentation: At the beginning of the semester, students will select one assigned reading on which to lead a 20-30 minute discussion. On the day of this oral presentation, students must also turn in an 8-page (double-spaced, typed) paper written in response to the reading and in preparation for the presentation. The papers and presentations should identify the author(s)' key arguments, the rhetorical strategies used in making those arguments, and issues raised by the work, in relation to other readings and artworks covered in class. The oral presentations should not simply be a reading of the 8-page paper, but should allow for discussion among participants in the class.

Artwork Response Paper & Presentation: At the beginning of the semester, students will pick a week on which to present a project by an artist other than themselves. These 15-20 minute presentations will outline the parameters of the project, its goals and tactics, and analyze its success as a project. Students should contextualize the project in relationship to other projects in the artist(s)' body of work and other works we've reviewed throughout the semester. The presenting student and her/ his classmates should be prepared to use the vocabulary developed through readings and class discussions in consideration of the project presented.

In-class writing exercises: Occasional in-class response papers will be assigned in relationship to readings and artworks. These assignments must be handed-in at the end of the class session.

Prospectus for final project: Immediately following spring break, students will hand-in a two-page proposal for a final project.

Final Project: All students will complete a final project, which may be either a written paper of 20-30 pages or a creative project.

Final Project Presentation: The results (research findings or creative work) of final projects will be presented in "mini-conferences," on April 20 and 27, the final two course sessions.

All written assignments are to be printed and turned in at the beginning of the class session on which they are due. Late assignments are not accepted and extensions are granted only under emergency circumstances.

Students should keep original copies of all course work turned-in and all edited and graded assignments. Please consult the course schedule for due dates.

Ultimately, letter grades are assigned on the following scale:

A = Excellent
B = Above Average
C = Average/ meets minimum requirements
D = Below Average
F = Complete Failure