DIRECTOR

John Schott, James W. Strong Professor of the Liberal Arts and Chair of Cinema & Media Studies

Prof. Schott has taught media production, history and theory at Carleton for 25 years. His current interests are in the rise of new media, digital culture, digital photography, and our rapidly changing communication environment. Prof. Schott has an extensive professional background as a photographer and filmmaker. His credits include serving as Executive Producer of the national PBS series American Photography. His photographs have been collected by the Museum of Modern Art and the International Museum of Photography.

Online curriculum vitae • Prof. Schott’s weblog

OVERVIEW

New Media is the term for technological art forms and art-making techniques–particularly those associated with computers and the Internet–that have emerged in the last two decades. One course in this seminar is devoted to experiencing directly and discussing new media projects encountered in three leading European art centers: Barcelona, Berlin, and Copenhagen. In the second course, students will create their own media works, based on the themes of the seminar and their own discoveries.

Our exploration of new media will focus particularly on the philosophy and experience of place and location, a topic ideally suited to the comparative cities and cultures perspective of the seminar. We will explore genius loci or spirit of place in cultural, artistic, technological, physical, virtual and personal terms, and we will create a wide range of personal media projects reflecting and instantiating our studies. Whether through mobile phones, RFID chips, Second Life or Google Earth, the notion of place is likely to be a key concept in technologies evolving in the next decade, and the seminar is dedicated to developing a strong critical and creative grasp of our mediated future.

The seminar's media production course will focus on photography, along with video and the web, and students will maintain a personal academic weblog to publish their work and writing. While it is desirable for students to bring their own laptop, media software, camera, Wi-Fi card, and outboard memory, this is not a requirement. The seminar will have its own resources, and many students will enjoy teaming up and sharing resources on projects.