Pedro Oliveira
[email protected]
NYU ITP, Spring 2019
MON 3:20-5:50pm

Art, design and experimental electronics can be great tools for inciting discussions of complex issues such as privacy, sexism, racism, economic inequality and climate change. This course aims to provoke thoughtful discussions of pressing issues through the combination of Art, Industrial Design and Embedded Electronics (sensors, actuators, wifi enabled microcontrollers - ESP32, raspberry pis). Topics will include technological disobedience, adversarial design and critical engineering.

In this 14 week class, students will combine technology, design, and critical theory to build Art Objects / Interactive Sculptures that are aesthetically intriguing while socially relevant.

This is a production heavy four-credit course, where students will learn about new-media critical theory, design and electronics.

• Goals and Requirements
• Introduction to Critical Objects
• Assignment

• Disobedient Electronics
• Workshop: Intro to ESP32
• Assignment

• Design Principals
• Anti Design / Radical Design / Critical Design
• Assignment

• Design Fiction x Critical Making
• Workshop: In class design exercise (Prototyping)

• Disobedient Objects
• Design for protest
• Assignment (Midterms)

• Hacking
• Technological Disobedience
• Appropriating Technology
• Discussion

• Midterms Presentations and Critique

• Workshop: Intro to Raspberry Pi

• Critical Objects and Body Politics
• Discussion
• Assignment

• "Is a pi the best solution for my Critical Object?""
• Workshop: Raspberry Pi 202

• Designing meaningful and Uncomfortable Interactions
• Assignment (Final)

• Best practices to keep an installation up forever
• Workshop: bash scripts / applescripts / automators

• Work Session / Help Session

• Finals Presentations and Critique

Pre-requisites
Prerequisites include an open mind, the drive to make, and physical computing.

Assessment
Class Participation: 40%
Assignments: 30%
Final Project: 30%
More than one unexcused absence will result in a failing grade. Arriving to two classes more than 15 minutes late counts as an absence. Please notify me as early as possible if you are unable to come to class. Assigments should be posted online 24h before the class.

Please see ITP's statement on Pass/Fail which states that a "Pass" is equivalent to an "A" or a "B" while anything less would be considered a "Fail".

Conduct
This class meets every Monday from 3:20pm to 5:50pm. Please be punctual and respectful. Assignment due dates are hard deadlines. Laptops must be closed while fellow classmates are presenting work. Please be respectful with each other.

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work as though it were your own. More specifically, plagiarism is to present as your own: A sequence of words quoted without quotation marks from another writer or a paraphrased passage from another writer’s work or facts, ideas or images composed by someone else.

The core of the educational experience at the Tisch School of the Arts is the creation of original academic and artistic work by students for the critical review of faculty members. It is therefore of the utmost importance that students at all times provide their instructors with an accurate sense of their current abilities and knowledge in order to receive appropriate constructive criticism and advice. Any attempt to evade that essential, transparent transaction between instructor and student through plagiarism or cheating is educationally self-defeating and a grave violation of Tisch School of the Arts community standards. For all the details on plagiarism, please refer to page 10 of the Tisch School of the Arts, Policies and Procedures Handbook, which can be found online at: http://students.tisch.nyu.edu/page/home.html

Please feel free to make suggestions to your instructor about ways in which this class could become more accessible to you. Academic accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Please contact the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212 998-4980 for further information.

Your health and safety are a priority at NYU. If you experience any health or mental health issues during this course, we encourage you to utilize the support services of the 24/7 NYU Wellness Exchange 212-443-9999. Also, all students who may require an academic accommodation due to a qualified disability, physical or mental, please register with the Moses Center 212-998-4980. Please let your instructor know if you need help connecting to these resources.

Laptops will be an essential part of the course and may be used in class during workshops and for taking notes in lecture. Laptops must be closed during class discussions and student presentations. Phone use in class is strictly prohibited unless directly related to a presentation of your own work or if you are asked to do so as part of the curriculum.