COMT 175: Workshop in Communication Media: Interventions in Public Spaces and Institutions

UCSD Dept of Communication
Winter 2011
Wednesdays: 2 PM- 4:50 PM
Professor:  Brian Goldfarb
Office Hours: , Tues 12:30 -1:30, Wed 11am -12pm ( MCC 241)
Contact: bgoldfarb at ucsd dot edu

Overview:

The goal of this course is to gain a broader understanding of the challenges and possibilities for articulating intellectual ideas through creative public practices. We will read about and view examples of community-based media, performance, art installations, events, and other activist interventions. Participants will develop creative projects that explore the possibilities of communication afforded by specific public spaces with attention to particular institutional settings and audiences/constituencies.

Through this project-based approach, the course will offer students an opportunity to expand their knowledge and experience of modes of engaging in public discourse and activity. Seminars will focus on how publics, communities, and audiences are articulated; and what frames we use to understand the value and impact of our work. We will be considering how activism, dissent, organizing and related concepts have motivated recent and historical media, art, and performance practices. Seminar discussions will help to inform course participants in their decisions regarding formats, sites, and audiences for their projects.

Course Requirements:

  • Reading and discussion is integral to the course. Keep up with readings and be prepared to contribute to discussions each week.
  • A short text installation exercise assignment that will be considered as part of your participation grade.
  • Participation in WebCT discussions/reflections
  • Two group projects are required, one due in the 6th week and the other in the finals week of class. You will present the project as a group, and turn in individual written reflections (3 pages). Specifications for these projects will be distributed and discussed in class.

Attendance and participation constitute a significant portion of your grade. Unexcused absences or lateness will detract from your grade. Refrain from emailing / texting / facebooking during class.

Disability Accommodations: If you require any accommodations for disabilities, please communicate with the Professor at the beginning of the course, and register with the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD). This way we may make arrangements to fit your needs.

Assessment:

  • Participation: 30%
  • First Group project: 30%
  • Final Group Project: 40%

 

    haacke survey
    Hans Haacke, MOMA Poll (1970) from the exhibition 'Information' at NYC's Museum of Modern Art. The artist posited this SYSTEM as art: a query, a response algorithm, and its visual feedback.
    Question: Would the fact that Governor Rockefeller has not denounced President Nixon's Indochina policy be a reason for you not to vote for him in November ?
    Answer: If 'yes' please cast your ballot into the left box if 'no' into the right box.

Course Schedule:

Notes: This schedule is provisional and may be updated througout the course. Please check back weekly. Readings will be available through the course WebCT site.

week: 1  |  2  |  3  |  4  | 5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10

WEEK 1 (March 30) : Introduction / What is public space and what does it allow? WEEK 2 (April 6):

Intersections of Art and Public Action

Reading:

  • Sember and Gere, "'Let the Record Show . . .': Art Activism and the AIDS Epidemic"
  • Suzanne Lacy, "Debated Territory: Toward a Critical Language for Public Art"
  • Lisa Phillips, "Temporality and Public Art"

Exercise #1 Due: Insert text

WEEK 3 (April 13):

Exclusion from and Dehumanization in/of Public Space

Readings:

  • Don Mitchell, "The Annihilation of Space by Law: The Roots and Implications of Anti-Homeless Laws In The United States"

In-class Visit to University Art Gallery's exhibit Silent Witness


WEEK 4 (April 20): Site visit to Chicano Park

Reading:

  • History of Chicano Park website (Read the "history" and "mural sections"): http://www.chicanoparksandiego.com/
  • Leslie Berestein "50,000 throng downtown in immigrant rights march"

WEEK 5 (April 27) Affective Dimensions of Cultural Activism

Reading:

  • Diana Taylor, "The DNA of Performance"
  • Jennifer Sandlin and Jennifer Milam,  “Mixing Pop (Culture) and Politics: Cultural Resistance, Culture Jamming, and Anti-Consumption Activism as Critical Public Pedagogy"

WEEK 6 (May 4) Group Project Presentations

 

WEEK 7 (May 11):

Making Histories Present

Readings:

  • Greg Sholette Interviewed by Dipti Desai, "History that Disturbs the Present: An Interview about REPOhistory"
  • Tom Finkelpearl, "The Anti-Monumental Work of Maya Lin"

WEEK 8 (May 18) Enacting Borders

  • Louise Amoore and Alexandra Hall, "Border Theatre: on the Arts of Security and Resistance"
  • Claire Fox, "The Portable Border"

WEEK 9 (May 25): Networking Activity in Physical Spaces

Readings:

  • Wyatt Galusky, "Identifying with Information: Citizen Empowerment, the Internet and the Environmental Anti-Toxins Movement"
  • Tiziana Terranova, "Demonstrating the Globe: Virtual Action in the Networked Society,"
WEEK 10 (June 1):

Invisible Theater and Active Bystanders

Readings:

  • Selections from: Agusto Boal, Legislative Theatre: Using Performance to Make Politics

Finals Week (June 8) Final Projects Due