LCC 2700 Introduction to Computational Media

LCC 2700 Introduction to Computational Media

Section 1: T Th 9:30 - 11 Skiles 020
Prof. Ian Bogost
Office Skiles 024
Office Hours T Th 12:30 - 1:30 and by appointment

Section 2: M W F 1:05 - 1:55 Skiles 355
Mr. David Jimison
Office Skiles 5
Lab Hours M W F 12 - 1 and by appointment

Course Description and Requirements
Introductory course for the Computational Media degree. Students read, discuss, and write analytically about key developments in history of digital media and the work of important theorists/inventors. They critique exemplary digital artifacts from classic programs like Weizenbaum's Eliza (an automated therapist) to the latest videogames. They also create projects within key representational traditions of computational media.

It is not often that human culture invents a new medium of representation. The computer is a powerful form of representation that is quickly assimilating older representational forms including spoken language, printed text, drawings, photographs, moving images. But the computer is not just a transmitter of old formats: it brings its own representational powers and its own new genres such as videogames, web sites, animated robots, and interactive televison programs. This course approaches the computer as an evolving medium of expression, connected to the history of media while it is evolving its own characteristic forms. We will be exploring the unique representational properties of the computer and surveying key advances in expressive power, such as the first virtual spaces and interactive characters.

Course requirements include eight computational media projects (two of them group projects), writing assignments, and a final examination on course readings and lectures.

Grading:
8 projects and in class project presentations: 60%
6 written assignments: 10%
Quizzes on readings: 10%
Final examination on readings and lectures: 10%
Prepared class attendance and participation: 10%

Grades will be given based on completeness and excellence.

Projects & Writing Assignments
Students whose projects meet all the requirements of the assignment and are executed adequately will receive a "C." Students whose projects meet all the requirements of the assginment and are executed with additional care, creativity, and coherence will receive a "B." To receive an "A" in the course, students must go above and beyond the basic requirements of the assignments. Students who fail to meet the requirements of the assignment or whose execution is incomplete or inadequate will receive a "D" or below.

Quizzes, and Final Exam
These written assignments will be graded to confirm the student's complete and fluent understanding of the key principles of the readings.

Note that to receive an "A" in the course, students must go above and beyond the basic requirements of the assignments.

Attendance Requirements
Students are expected to attend all classes. Three excused absences are permitted, any more will result in a reduction in the the student's final grade by one letter grade for every two additional unexcused absenses. Tardiness over 10 minutes will be considered an unexcused absence.

Plagiarism Warning
Plagiarism of any form will not be tolerated, and will result in a failing grade for the course. Plagiarism is not only the uncredited copying of text from another's work but also:

Copying ideas or code from other digital artifacts. adaptation of code samples is not necessarily plagiarism. However, explicitly copying entire algorithms or sample applications and representing them as your own is not permitted. Use sample code and online resources as tutorials to help you write your own original code.

Unauthorized collaboration between students. Students are encouraged to share and critique each others' work, but collaboration is only permitted on group projects.

Reading List
These books are available at the Engineers Bookstore or from your favorite online bookseller
Noah Waldrip-Fruin and Nick Montfort, The New Media Reader (MIT Press 2003)
Janet Murray, Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace (MIT Press, 1998)