home | syllabi | projects | sites | contact - mark cooley - mcooley (@) gmu.edu

Course Outline: Issues and Ethics in Digital Culture

Professor: Mark Cooley
Class hours: TBA
Location: TBA
Office hours: TBA
Office -

NOTICE: This course outline indicates a rough guide to where we are headed. However, additions, subtractions and reorganization of course content is likely. You will be informed of any changes during class meetings.  In addition, you should revisit this page routinely. It may be updated throughout the semester.

It should go without saying that this outline, along with the rest of this site, is not any kind of substitute for class attendance and participation.  As stated numerous times on this site: this is not an online course. You cannot pass this course by relying simply on content provided on this site.  Project descriptions on this site will, more often than not, lack specific technical and conceptual parameters. They should be treated as a resource to accompany in-class lecture, discussion and project descriptions.

Weeks 01 & 02: Believing is Seeing

Topic

• Issues of representation and simulation: A look at digital culture and the (de)construction of truth.

Artists

• Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Joseph Kosuth, Richard Prince, Jeff Koons, Sherrie Levine, Situationist Internationale, The Yes men,

Text & Media

• Robins, Kevin. “Will the image still move us.” The Photographic Image in Digital Culture. Ed. Martin Lister. Routledge: London. 1995

Additional Resources

• Lister, Martin ed. The Photographic Image in Digital Culture. Routledge: London and New York. 1995.
• Baudrillard, Jean. Poster, Mark ed. “Simulacra and Simulations”. Jean Baudrillard, Selected Writings. Stanford University Press: Stanford. 1988. <http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/Baudrillard/Baudrillard_Simulacra.html>.
• Debord, Guy. The Society of the Spectacle. Video. 1973. <http://www.ubu.com/film/debord_spectacle.html>.

Weeks 03 & 04: If you Love Something…

Topics

• Questions of authorship and ownership, publicity and privacy: A look at proprietary and non-proprietary digital cultures. Guest lecturers: 1. Nelson Pavlosky, George Mason University’s School of Law and co-founder of Freeculture.org. 2. Casey Rae-Hunter, Communications Director @ Future of Music Coalition.

Artists and Projects

• John Heartfield, William Burroughs, Bruce Conner, Martha Rosler, Dara Birnbaum, Craig Baldwin, Negativland, Kenneth Hung, DJ spooky, Tom Forsythe, Cut-up Collective.
• VisitorsStudio. Furtherfield.org. <http://blog.visitorsstudio.org>.
• Haynes, Todd. Superstar: the Karen Carpenter Story. Video. 1987. <http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=622130510713940545>.
• Creative Commons. <http://creativecommons.org>.
• FreeCulture.org: Students for Free Culture. <http://freeculture.org>.
• Future of Music Coalition. <http://www.futureofmusic.org>.
• Stayfree Magazine. <http://www.stayfreemagazine.org>.
• Illegal Art. <http://www.illegal-art.org>. An exhibition project maintained by Stayfree Magazine. <http://www.stayfreemagazine.org>.

Text & Media

• Lethem, Jonathan. “The ecstasy of influence: A plagiarism.” Harper’s Magazine February 2007. <http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/02/0081387>.
• Stallman, Richard M. Copyright vs Community in the Age of Computer Networks. Online video, Lecture at University of Waterloo           

          Audio: <http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/files/rms-talk.ogg>.
          Question and Answer Audio: <http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/files/rms-qa.ogg>.

• Lessig, Lawrence. “Free Culture.” Online presentation recorded at O.Reilly Open Source Conference. 2002. <http://randomfoo.net/oscon/2002/lessig>. <http://www.free-culture.cc>.

Additional Resources

• Harvard Law School. Art Law. Image Rights. <http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/martin/art_law/image_rights.htm>
• Garnett, Joy. “Painting Mass Media.” Columbia University School of the Arts. New York. 2004 <http://nothing.org/lectures>.
• The American Library Association archive of Copyright Court Cases <http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/copyrightb/copyrightcases/copyrightcourt.cfm>.
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA): Selected Cases. Electronic Frontier Foundation. <http://w2.eff.org/IP/DRM>.
• Aufderheide, Pat. Jaszi, Peter. “Recut, Reframe, Recycle: Quoting Copyrighted Material in User-Generated Video.” Center for Social Media. American University: Washington DC. http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/recut_reframe_recycle>. 2007
• Center for Social Media. “Want your questions on Fair Use Answered?” Center for Social Media. American University: Washington DC. <http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/news/want_your_questions_on_fair_use_answered>.
• Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture. The Penguin Press. 2004. <http://www.free-culture.cc>. Free Culture Audio Popup book. <http://www.turnstyle.org/FreeCulture>.
• Underneath the Knowledge Commons. Mute Magazine. Vol 2 #1. <http://www.metamute.org/Underneath-the-Knowledge-Commons>.
• Wark, Mackenzie. A Hacker Manifesto. Harvard University Press: Cambridge. 2004.
• Stallman, Richard. "The GNU project and the free software movement." Zagreb. 9 Mar. 2006. <http://fsfeurope.org/documents/rms-fs-2006-03-09.en.html>.
• Stallman, Richard. " Copyright and Globalization in the Age of Computer Networks." MIT. Cambridge. 19 Apr. 2001. <http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/copyright-and-globalization.html>.
• Stallman, Richard. " The Dangers of Software Patents." Irish Free Software Organisation (IFSO). 24 May. 2004. <http://www.ifso.ie/documents/rms-2004-05-24.html>.
• “Hacker Ethics.” Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_ethic>.

Weeks 05 & 06: Manufacturing Consent

Topic

• The role of commercial media: A look at media ownership, public and private interests and relationship with democratic processes.

Art & Projects

• Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). <http://www.fair.org>.
• Project Censored. <http://www.projectcensored.org>.
• The Hacktivist. <http://www.thehacktivist.com>.
• Electronic Disturbance Theater (EDT). <http://www.thing.net/~rdom/ecd/ecd.html>.
• Guerrilla News Network. <http://www.guerrillanews.com>.
• Big Noise Films. <http://www.bignoisefilms.com>.
• Z Communications. <http://www.zmag.org>.
• Independent Media Center. <http://www.indymedia.org>.
• Free Speech TV. <http://www.freespeech.org>.
• Mapping Public Media. Center for Social Media. <http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/news/mapping_public_media>.

Text & Media

• Chomsky, Noam. Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda 2nd Edition. Seven Stories Press: New York. 2002.
• Stauber, John. Rampton, Sheldon. Toxic Sludge is Good for You. Common Courage Press: Monroe, Maine. 1995.
• Dominguez, Ricardo. Columbia Art and Technology Lecture. Columbia University: New York. 2004. <http://nothing.org/lectures/index.htm>.

Additional Resources

• Chomsky, Noam. Herman, Edward S. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Pantheon Books: New York. 1987.
• Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media. Video. Directors, Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick. 1992. 167 min.
• Knabb, Ken, ed. Situationist International Anthology: Revised and Expanded Edition. AK Press: Oakland CA. 2006. <http://www.bopsecrets.org/cat.htm>.
• Debord, Guy. The Society of the Spectacle. Rebel Press: London. 2005. <http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/debord>.
• Wray, Stefan. “Electronic Civil Disobedience and the World Wide Web of Hacktivism: A Mapping of Extraparliamentarian Direct Action Net Politics.” Switch. V:4, N:2. <http://switch.sjsu.edu/web/v4n2/stefan/index.html>.
• Critical Art Ensemble. “The Technology of Uselessness.” Electronic Civil Disobedience and Other Unpopular Ideas. Autonomedia: New York. 1997. <http://www.critical-art.net/books/index.html>.

Week 07 & 08: Production Values

Topics

• From factory to landfill: Technological production and impacts on human and environmental health.
• Larger philosophical questions including: Utopia / dystopia, technological determinism, speed and politics, progress and catastrophe.

Text & Media

• Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. "Toxics and Health." Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. <http://svtc.etoxics.org/site/PageServer?pagename=svtc_toxics_and_health>.           
• Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. "Electronics Industry." Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. <http://svtc.etoxics.org/site/PageServer?pagename=svtc_electronic_industry_overview>.                       
• Schell, Jonathan. The Fate of the Earth. New York: Avon Books, 1982. (Excerpt)
• Virilio, Paul. Speed and Politics. New York: Columbia University, 1986. (Excerpt)

Art & Projects

• Murthy, Prema. Mythic Hybrid, webproject, Violence without Bodies exhibition, Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. 2005. <http://www.premamurthy.net/project_mythic.html>.
• Redundant Technology Initiative. <http://www.lowtech.org>.
• Critical Art Ensemble. Useless Technology.

• Deck, Andy. Wildlife Online. <http://artcontext.org/act/07/wildlifeOffline/index>.
• Eco-Scope. <http://www.terranode.org/ecoScope>.

• Unknown Quantity. Foundation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Art Exhibition. 2003. <http://www.onoci.net/virilio/index_uk.php>.
• Ulmer, Gregory L. Sacrificing Music: The Monumental Electronic and Wreck Work Conceptual Memorial. <http://www.nwe.ufl.edu/~gulmer/title.html>.
• Garnett, Joy. The Bomb Project. <http://www.firstpulseprojects.net/bombproject/Index.html>.
• Atomic Café. Video. Director, Pierce Rafferty. 1982. 86 min.
• The Day After Trinity. Video. Director, Jon Else. 1981. 88 min.
• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Video. Director, Stanley Kubrick. 1964. 96 min.

Additional Resources

• Smith, Ted, David A. Sonnenfield, and David N. Pellow. Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environment Justice in the Global Electronics Industry. New York University Press: New York and London. 2002.
• Pellow, David. Park Lisa. The Silicon Valley of Dreams: Environmental Injustice, Immigrant Workers, and the High-Tech Global Economy. New York University Press: New York and London. 2002.
• Grossman, Elizabeth. High Tech Trash: Digital devices, hidden toxics, and human health. Washington D.C: Island Press, 2006.
• Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. <http://svtc.etoxics.org. http://svtc.igc.org>.

• Deck, Andy. Mall of the Wild. <http://www.artcontext.org/crit/essays/mall/index.html>. 1993.

• Virilio, Paul. Unknown Quantity. Thames and Hudson: New York, London. 2003.

Weeks 09, 10: The Art Buck Stops Here

Topics

• The culture industry: A look at arts sponsorship and questions of autonomy and freedom of expression.

Text & Media

• Stevens, Jackie. "Why are biotech companies suddenly sponsoring art about genes.” <http://www.rtmark.com/rockwell.html>. 2000
• Haacke, Hans. "Museums: Managers of Consciousness.” Hans Haacke ed. Hans Haacke: Unfinished Business. (Exhibition Catalogue) The New Museum of Contemporary Art, MIT: New York and Cambridge. 1987

Art & Projects

• Haacke, Hans. MOMA Poll. 1970. Various polling projects 1969-73.
• Haacke, Hans. Shapolsky et al. Manhattan Real Estate Holdings, a Real-time Social System. Hans Haacke. 1971
• Haacke, Hans. On Social Grease. 1975
• Haacke, Hans. Mobilization Hans Haacke. 1975
• Haacke, Hans. MetroMobiltan. 1985
• Guerrilla Girls. Various works. 1980’s - 2007
• Fraser, Andrea. McCollum, Allen. May I Help You. 1991
• Fraser, Andrea. Museum Highlights: A Gallery Talk. 1989

• Paradise Now (Art Exhibition). Exit Art. 2000. <http://www.exitart.org>.

Additional Resources

• Haacke, Hans ed. Hans Haacke: Unfinished Business (Exhibition Catalogue). The New Museum of Contemporary Art, MIT: New York and Cambridge. 1987
• Deutsche, Rosalyn. “Property Values: Hans Haacke, Real Estate, and the Museum”. Hans Haacke ed. Hans Haacke: Unfinished Business. (Exhibition Catalogue) The New Museum of Contemporary Art, MIT: New York and Cambridge. 1987.

Week 11: Final Thoughts

Topic

• Review and discuss the dominant issues of the semester.

avt 280
Introduction to Digital Art
syllabus | outline

avt 399
Special Topics: Tactical Media
syllabus | outline

avt 483
Internet Art
syllabus | outline

avt 616
Grad Studio: Networked Art Practice
syllabus

avt 620
Grad Seminar: Theory and Criticism
syllabus | outline

avt 399 / 599
Informed by the Land: Experimental Media
syllabus | outline | Greece '08 Site

avt 497
Senior Project
syllabus | outline

avt 180
Computers in the Creative Arts
syllabus | outline

AVT 000
Issues and Ethics in Digital Culture
syllabus | outline