Hello and welcome to Topics and Perspectives in Emerging Technology! I’m looking forward to having a productive semester in which we have a chance to think through how technology shapes us and in turn how we shape technology.

This is a hybrid course which means that we will be meeting in person and online. In addition to today, we will meet in person for your midterm and final presentations. I will give you ample warning!

Before we get started a bit of housekeeping:

This is the online hub to the class. I will be posting assignment details, readings, resources and more here.

I will provide each person with a Google folder. All work should be turned in there.

  • Here is our permanent Zoom link: Topics and Perspectives in Emerging Technology: https://pratt.zoom.us/j/94983539221
  • Here is an invitation to our Slack workspace: https://join.slack.com/t/topicsandpers-6gu2684/shared_invite/zt-21qasirkl-icIKEV87j9JODLFuyvL2YA
  • Here is the syllabus. Specific readings and details about the assignments will be provided here on a weekly basis. I will also be posting resources, and relevant resources as they arise.

This is course is a roundtable seminar. We will read texts (sometimes together), have screenings, write both subjectively and objectively about technology and how it relates to society, and we will discuss ideas.

Due to the nature of the subject, I will be providing readings and resources as the semester progresses. Your ideas and thoughts are always welcome! This is your learning community.

Inclusivity Statement:

This course consists of individual work and group discussion. We must therefore strive to create an atmosphere of inclusion and mutual respect: all students will have their chosen gender pronoun(s) and chosen name recognized. If the class roster does not align with your name, gender, and/or pronouns, please inform the instructor. It is the intent of City Tech, the department, and this course to well-serve students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives, that students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that the students bring to this class be viewed as an asset, resource, strength, and benefit, rather than a checklist item or worse, a hindrance. Materials and activities presented in the course will respect diversity: gender identity, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, and culture. Your suggestions and feedback are encouraged and appreciated. Feel free to reach out to the instructor.

Reading:

Boulevard du Temple, Paris, 3rd arrondissement, a street scene captured in a daguerreotype in either 1838 or 1839, and believed to be the earliest photograph showing a living person. It is a view of a busy street, but because the exposure time was at least 10 minutes, the moving traffic left no trace. The two men near the bottom left corner, one apparently having his boots polished by the other, stayed in one place long enough to be visible. It is also thought that just to the right of the two men, another person can be seen, sitting on a bench and reading a paper 176 years ago. 
Louis Daguerre

The Language of New Media (2001)

Lev Manovich – The Language of New Media

How New Media became New?

Principles of New Media pg 27- 48

Close read, and discussion

Reflect: How has networked technology changed how we experience and understand the world?

Homework-Due Next Week :

  1. Read ch 1. Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows and write 1 pg reading reflection and unpack a system of your choice.
  2. Field notes: Auto-ethnographic Observation
    • Spend 5 hours this week without using networked computing. This includes but is not limited to the internet, ATMs, TV and most of the functions on your smart phone.
    • Take notes as you do this: Write about your observations: anything unusual that occurs; anything that’s unexpectedly normal; how does not being connected make you feel; how does it change your perception of time or space; what are your feelings about the assignment; etc.
    • Compile the notes into a google doc. (1-2 pages) and upload it to your google folder.