Tuesday we will be discussing Manovich’s The Language of New Media, you should focus your reading on the Intro, Chp. 1, Chp. 2, & Chp. 5, although I will probably talk about issues raised throughout the book as a whole.

For those who are interested, watch the TED lecture given by Craig Venter.

For the last class we will be reading Zittrain’s The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It. I will want to talk about material from the whole book, but make sure you read sections 1 & 3 completely. (You can also follow the author on twitter: @zittrain). He is also a pretty funny guy, you might want to check out his appearance on the Colbert report (probably available on comedy central).

Thursday, for the second to last class, we will be discussing Thacker and Galloway’s The Exploit. This is a somewhat different take on “network theory.” Although this book is short, it is a tough read, so leave yourself time. Leave your comments/thoughts below.

Up next Foucault and Nakamura. Leave your comments/thoughts below.

After spring break we will be talking about Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody. Read the entire book as we will talk about the whole thing. (Don’t worry its a good read.)

Second, on that Thursday the proposal for your final project is due. This should be one page and outline what you want to write about for your final paper, or do for your final project.

This Thursday’s readings will cover the concept of the “public sphere.” Read both Habermas’s “The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Entry” and Mark Poster’s “Cyberdemocracy.” Leave your thoughts/comments below. Your midterms will be due at the beginning of class.

Thursday will mark a shift away from focusing on the technological structures of media to the effects that media have on our notion of “public” and “publicness.” Begin by reading Part 1 of The German Ideology . Next read Stuart Hall on “Encoding/Decoding” which is available on eReserve. Leave your comment/question below.

This week we will be discussing Benjamin’s famous article, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” and Nichols’s refiguring of the article, “The Work of Culture in the Age of Cybernetic Systems.” Both can be obtained via eReserves. Post your thoughts below.

Starting this week we will be turning to looking at theorists who have attempted to understand the way technology (as in specific technical artifacts) change media representation. First up is Eisenstein and the printing press. I will talk about the whole book, but you should make sure that you read the first section and the final chapter as these are the most important. Leave your question below.

Note: In case you missed the update on the prior post here is the TED Talk which deals with Remediation and comics.

Thursday we will be discussing Bolter & Grusin’s book Remediation. You should read Part 1, and Part 3 as it is in these two chapters that they lay out the central argument. In Part 2 they look at several different art form and apply their theoretical lens to said form. So, while you can read all of Part 2 you only need to read 2 chapters which most interest you. (For example if you work on digital games and virtual words you might want to read those to chapters.) Leave your comment below, and mention which chapters from Part 2 you decided to read.

Update: Sorry for the lateness, but anyway here is the TED Talk which I referenced in class.