IMA 704: Communications + the City Psychogeography + Locative Media Professor Mary Flanagan :: Hunter College Exploring the history of cities and media practice from historical, geographical, and practice-based research approaches, this course focuses on the way the space of the city and media intersect, with a particular emphasis on the emerging field of locative media. The first half of the course introduces a selection of the key and historical texts of social theory which study cities, spatiality and urban form, with a focus (though not exclusive to) the city of New York. Readings will include Lefebvre, de Certeau, Calvino, Massey. Class discussions will cover a range of critical perspectives on media practice with a focus on Surrealist, Situationist, performance, and contemporary media art work which have reassessed the ways of representing, relating to and encountering the city. The second half of the class will investigate locative media, a new art form that explores the ways in which data, location, and media technology alters how we can understand issues of place and environment; locative media projects can include smart mob, urban gaming, and other ways in which the "real world" can be interactively explored and mapped. The course also includes discussions of the work of contemporary media practitioners (including visiting practitioners) whose work includes user-led mapping and artistic interventions. Students will write one research paper, lead discussions, and have the option of a solo/group practice project or paper for the final work. Our Wiki
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** NOTE TO STUDENTS USR ID PHD, PASSWORD PHD!
Readings:
From Situationists International Anthology (one scan):
From Design Research:
From the New Yorker (read in prep for your met visit)
The Passion of the ChristosFrom the Everyday Life Reader:
Madge, Charles. "Mass Observation: Two Leters and 'They Speak for Themselves' [1936-7]". In Highmore, Ben (ed.) The Everday LIfe Reader. New York: Routledge 2002, pp 145-152.
Debord, Guy. "Perspectives for Conscious Alterations in Everyday Life [1961]". In Highmore, Ben (ed.) The Everday LIfe Reader. New York: Routledge 2002, pp.237-245.
From deCerteau:
de Certeau, Michel. The Practice of Everyday Life. Trans. Steven Rendall. Chapter 7: Walking in the City. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984, pp.91-110.
From Jane Jacobs:
Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage, 1961, pp 55-73; pp. 372-448. Click here for pdf part 1; part 2.
From Lefebvre:
Lefebvre, Henri. Writing on Cities. Trans Eleonore Kofman and Elizabeth Lebas. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1996, pp. 205-215. Click here for pdf.
From Calvino's Invisible Cities:
Calvino, Italo. Invisible Cities. Various pages.
From Gibson:
Gibson, William. Idoru. pp. 107-117, 229-236
From Mitchell:
Mitchell, William J. City of Bits. "Space, Place, and the Infobahn". Cambridge: MIT Press, 1998, pp. 115-133.
From the Situationist City:
Sadler, Simon. The Situationist City. Cambridge: MIT Press, parts of Chapters 2 and 3, pp 76-122. Click here for pdfs, divided into three files for downloading convenience: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
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