New Course Proposal - IAT 322-3 Issues in Performance and Media Arts


S. Kozel, T. Schiphorst, School of Interactive Arts and Technology


February 9, 2005

Revision C


Calendar Information


Course Number: IAT 322-3


Course Title: Issues in Performance and Media Arts


Credit Hours: 3 Vector: 2-0-1 (Lecture-Tutorial-Lab)


Course Description


Guides students to reflect upon and analyze specific questions and issues relating to performance and media studies. Current projects and conceptual frameworks from the academic and professional art worlds will be examined and students will be requested to read, conceptualize and articulate debates while inserting their own views into the forum based on their own developing artistic practices. Intended to be a Writing Intensive course.



Prerequisite: none


Recommended: Interactive Performance & Installation and/or IAT 321 Kinesthetic Space


Corequisite: none


Special Instructions: None.


Course(s) to be dropped if this course is approved:


None


Rationale for Introduction of this Course


This course will be a reading and writing intensive course which will expose students to the range of issues and theoretical perspectives informing the practice of media arts from an embodied perspective. Its value will be to emphasize how PMA practices can be informed and furthered by an enhanced conceptual understanding. Current 3rd year curriculum lacks a writing intensive course; IAT 322 will prepare students for their final year of studies by creating a context for students to improve their abilities to understand and construct arguments.


Will this be a required or elective course in the curriculum; probable enrolment when offered?

This course will be required for all PMA students. Enrolment is estimated at 50-100 students per year.


Scheduling and Registration Information


Indicate Semester and Year this course would be first offered and planned frequency of offering thereafter.


This course will initially be offered in fall 2005 and annually thereafter.



Which of your present CFL faculty have the expertise to offer this course? Will the course be taught by sessional or limited term faculty?


Of our present faculty, the following have the expertise to offer this course:

Susan Kozel, Associate Professor

Thecla Schiphorst, Associate Professor

It is anticipated that new faculty hires will also be able to teach this course.



Are there any proposed student fees associated with this course other than tuition fees?


No.



Is this course considered a `duplicate' of any current or prior course under the University's duplicate course policy? Specify, as appropriate.


No.


Resource Implications


Note: Senate has approved (S.93-11) that no new course should be approved by Senate until funding has been committed for necessary library materials. Each new course proposal must be accompanied by a library report and, if appropriate, confirmation that funding arrangements have been addressed.


Provide details on how existing instructional resources will be redistributed to accommodate this new course. For instance, will another course be eliminated or will the frequency of offering of other courses be reduced; are there changes in pedagogical style or class sizes that allow for this additional course offering.


This course may require the acquisition of several new books each year for the Surrey Campus Library. This course will not require the use of any other equipment.


Does the course require specialized space or equipment not readily available in the department or university, and if so, how will these resources be provided?


Standard classrooms will be suitable.


Does this course require computing resources (e.g. hardware, software, network wiring, use of computer laboratory space) and if so, describe how they will be provided.


No new resources are required that are not anticipated by existing plans for increasing classroom space at the Surrey Campus.

Course Outline

This course is intended to be a Writing Intensive course which will guide students to reflect upon and analyze specific questions and issues relating to performance and media studies. Current projects and conceptual frameworks from the academic and professional art worlds will be examined and students will be requested to read, conceptualize and articulate debates while inserting their own views into the forum based on their own developing artistic practices.

It will be a seminar course, requiring students to guide presentations and feedback to their peers. A general topic will be selected by the instructor, with specific readings. Students will then be requested to deepen the discussion by contributing their own research to the area (research which will cover art work as well as books, articles and other written discussions). Each student will present their ‘paper’ in a conference presentation style and will receive feedback from their peers. The presentation will then be transformed into an essay for the final submission

Course Objectives


Upon completion of this course, students will


* have improved their comprehension, writing, and argument construction skills


* have a clearer understanding of the depth and range of theoretical frameworks from which their practices can be addressed.


* have practice with the preparation and presentation of a formal academic paper


* increase their abilities to provide effective feedback to their peers regarding the construction of ideas and arguments.


* be better prepared for their final year of studies

Learning Activities and Evaluation:


Activities consist of class-based discussion (25%), tutorial sessions, a presentation (25%), and a writing project that includes opportunities for feedback and revision(50%).


Texts, Resources & Materials


Suggested texts:


The texts will be selected each year to best reflect current trends in critical theory and philosophies of media and performance art, these will be juxtaposed with selected ‘classics’ in the field which lay the foundation for debate


Hayles, Katherine. 2002. Writing Machines. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.


Marks, Laura. 2002. Touch: Sensuous Theory and Multisensory Media. Minneapolis & London: U of Minnesota Press.


Crary, Jonathan. 2000. Suspensions of Perception. Cambridge MA, The MIT Press.


Bender and Druckery, eds. 1994. Culture on the Brink: Ideologies of Technology. Seattle: Bay Press.


Virilio, Paul. 1991. Aesthetics of Disappearance. Semiotexte.