Re: New Media Education and Its Discontent

I am writing this as a student in the Interactive Telecommunications program here in New York City.

I remember going to a group of thesis presentations at my program last year. A particular thesis advisor had invited in a bunch of theory heavyweights to critique student thesis projects. The students came up with, what, in my opinion, were joyous, innovative, mindbending projects. When presented with these projects, the special guest theory gurus drizzled half praise and scorn on their projects. The students had not couched their projects in the theoretical clothes that these heavyweights spent their waking hours designing. Maybe theory gets a bad rap, but these experts did not improve my perception of people who live and breath theory.

I am sorry if this offends, but I do shop for my teachers. Anyone who spends thousands of dollars, or tens of thousands would be foolish not to consume wisely. And shopping is actually quite challenging, at least for me. Every time I need to buy a new pair of shoes, I dread the required shopping expedition, because shopping is hard work. The same goes when I am shopping for teachers. I try to see who will both open my mind and show me how to construct my projects more skillfully on a technical level.

I look for someone who actually creates stuff for the marketplace and who thinks deeply about what they do. I am distrustful of teachers who live entirely in a world of ideas, as I am distrustful of teachers who live only to design products that sell.

I guess, I would recommend that teachers who are very comfortable with theoretical discourse try making art, or tools, or games every once in a while. And those teachers who produce stuff for the marketplace think a little harder about the universe of ideas. I suspect they will be better teachers, able to meet their students halfway and take them in new directions, and who knows, maybe be taken in new directions themselves.

Jon Goldstein
[email protected]






Marisa Olson wrote:

> hi, all. trebor scholz posted this interesting piece to the sarai
> reader list. thought some here might be interested…
>
> i'm particularly interested in the discussion of "the apparent
> tension between teaching theory and
> production." it does seem (given my own experiences as a perpetual
> phd student) that so many of the programs have this polarized,
> alienating curricular dichotomy going and i have found myself
> frustrated at the lack of middle ground. when i was in the uk, it
> impressed me that art practice programs had theoretical research
> components built into their degrees, whereas the two are so separated
> in the US. in the context of the media arts, there seems to be a bit
> more of an impetus to "present" both, but my sense is that many of
> the people steering the programs are doing so under the mark of
> intimidation by the so-called "new" media and, also–more
> importantly, that there is a general lack of synthesis between
> criticism/theory and practice. so that courses will focus on the
> "right" new media readings, and possibly introducing critical theory
> vets (jameson, baudrillard, foucault, etc.) in this light, but
> without engaging with an application of those ideas to a reading of
> any real art work. and, on the other hand, there are nuts & bolts
> practice courses that (perhaps sprouting out of the
> anti-intellectualism scholz mentions) snub theory as divorced from
> their engagement with director or perl, and focus simply on
> production.
>
> the rapid development of the technologies (hard and soft) associated
> with "new media" is a bittersweet thing. book production timelines do
> not jive with software upgrades. this we know. but, still, it would
> be great if the "production" (and hiring!) of scholars equally
> engaged in practice and criticism (not that i don't seem criticism as
> a sort of practice, and vice-versa!) and comfortable merging the two
> would catch up to the work.
>
> my two cents…
> ~marisa
>
> >Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 16:41:17 -0400
> >From: trebor scholz <[email protected]>
> >To: Sarai List <[email protected]>
> >
> >
> >New Media Education and Its Discontent
> >
> >"S<caron> home are the people for whom I take responsibility."
> >————–Vilem Flusser in "The Freedom of the Migrant"
> >
> >The Brazilian philosopher Vilem Flusser wrote much about the exile
> freely
> >taking responsibility. I am in the fortunate position to enjoy
> teaching in a
> >technology-based university department in the United States. I chose
> to take
> >responsibility for the (new media) education of my students. And yet
> I
> >experience conflicts among which student anti-intellectualism ranks
> first.
> >
> > A few anecdotal examples: one student reports how her high school
> teachers
> >incessantly lied to her in their "interpretation" of world history
> and how
> >that stirred up suspicion of "the intellectual." Another student
> claims that
> >because of the availability of material online he feels less inclined
> to
> >study the conclusions that other people draw from these texts as he
> himself
> >can make up his mind. A graduate student recounts experiences he had
> as a
> >critical technical practitioner in the early 90s when intellectuals
> applied
> >the knowledge in their field to what he calls his own and quickly
> received a
> >lot of visibility while not really understanding the issues due to a
> lack of
> >technical insight. Students ask what it means to be intelligent and
> raise
> >concerns that the class overlooks the type of knowledge that their
> >grandmothers have, a very local and emotional insight. Maybe not
> >surprisingly most distrust intellectuals in this country, calling
> them
> >elitist, out of touch with this world, and view them as irrelevant.
> >Completely quiet until then, one graduate student suddenly erupts in
> a
> >candid impromptu lecture about the history of anti-intellectualism in
> the
> >United States (he surely was trained to defend his position
> throughout his
> >high school years). He traces it back to President Andrew Jackson,
> who
> >received "sporadic education," wiped out Indian tribes and did not
> hesitate
> >to shoot verbal contenders. Jackson hated people who knew more than
> he did.
> >Coincidentally they were the Jews, homosexuals and immigrants of the
> time.
> >John Quincy Adams, the sixth US president said of Jackson that he
> "cannot
> >spell more than one word in four." The brave student then linked
> Jackson's
> >presidency to the history of the extreme right in the United States
> and the
> >prevalence of anti-intellectualism in this country up to this day.
> The
> >California recall-election is a good example in which the candidate
> with the
> >most "personality" may win over those with intellect and experience
> in
> >politics. The last presidential elections also proved this point.
> >
> >The debate about anti-intellectualism has become more vocal in
> classrooms
> >across America for the past 10 years. "Anti-intellectualism," in my
> >encyclopedia, is described as "hostility towards, or a mistrust of
> >intellectuals, and their intellectual pursuits. This may be expressed
> in
> >various ways, such as an attack on the merits of science, education,
> or
> >literature." The definition continues: "In another sense,
> >anti-intellectualism reflects an attitude that simply takes
> >'intellectualism' with a grain of salt–inasmuch as intellectuals may
> be
> >vain or narcissistic in their self-image, so too may they be
> understood by
> >'common people.'" And let's add some more from this source (leaving
> aside
> >how problematic the term 'common people' obviously is):
> >"Anti-intellectualism is found in every nation on earth, but has
> become
> >associated in particular with the United States of America. It
> existed in
> >the US before the nation itself; the New England Puritan writer John
> Cotton
> >wrote in 1642 that 'The more learned and witty you bee, the more fit
> to act
> >for Satan will you bee.' Anti-intellectual folklore values the
> self-reliant
> >and 'self-made man,' schooled by society and by experience, over the
> >intellectual whose learning was acquired through books and formal
> study."
> >
> >Concretely, anti-intellectualism manifests itself in the class room
> by not
> >reading assignments, not contributing to class discussion,
> complaining about
> >a high work load, skipping class, giving low evaluations to
> instructors with
> >high standards, not bothering to do extra work, by dispassionately
> >condemning intellectual debate as "boring." Incidents of racism and
> >xenophobia in the classroom can be seen as part of the same problem.
> >
> > bell hooks describes the "pleasure of teaching" as an "act of
> resistance
> >countering the overwhelming boredom, uninterest, and apathyS<caron>" In her
> book,
> >"Teaching to Transgress," hooks describes teaching as a site for
> resistance,
> >a place where the teacher must practice being vulnerable, and wholly
> >present. I agree with her- the teacher's vulnerability brings a sense
> of a
> >real, conflictual person to the classroom that encourages students to
> >develop a similarly genuine expression of their position, free of
> sarcasm
> >and false irony. This approach is more about learning than teaching-
> it is a
> >process full of productive conflict in which the instructor is also
> >transformed. Isn't it more fulfilling to be skilled than unskilled,
> to know
> >than to not know, to inquire than to be self-satisfied, to strive
> than to be
> >apathetic? What does learning mean? What does it mean to be in a
> place like
> >a university where you have the opportunity of knowledge being
> presented to
> >you, and time to reflect and navigate your own orientation?
> >
> > Media Study Departments bring together the most relevant sources of
> >knowledge– from cultural theory, and literature to technical skill,
> from
> >the vocational to the conceptual. It is important to create an
> understanding
> >of the importance of conceptual work in students. New media
> education faces
> >other issues like the apparent tension between teaching theory and
> >production, between those who "think for a living" and others who are
> on the
> >"cutting edge" of technological innovation. In my classroom I
> experience
> >much careerism, which I see both, as a result and a cause of student
> >anti-intellectualism. Increasingly, career-minded students see
> college as an
> >imposition between high school and the good life. The focus for many
> >undergraduate students is on acquiring software and programming
> skills,
> >which they value as the only stepping-stones to a corporate job. At
> the same
> >time new media educators all over the country find it increasingly
> painful
> >to prepare the next generation for their career as HTML slaves. In
> this
> >"tech prep" atmosphere, emphasizing employability, art becomes
> increasingly
> >"applied art." On the other hand, there is a severe problem for those
> >talented graduates who decide not to seek shelter in the "industry."
> They
> >become new media artists and apart from hard-to-get positions in
> academia
> >there are few places that will finance them. In the North of Europe
> the
> >situation differs somewhat as grants may cover the new media artist's
> >livelihood.
> >
> >Career-minded students often think that the cutting edge medium will
> get
> >them "that job," with the "new and hip" constantly being in
> transition. "I
> >don't know why we look at work in the Internet- it is already 10
> years old."
> >Students make similar demands of texts: "I don't know why we read
> this, it's
> >written in 1995- that's dated now." And universities often buy into
> this
> >perceived industry standard instead of focusing on general skills
> such as
> >independent critical thinking that get students much further.
> >
> > How could we develop a curiosity for (art) history that then leads
> to, for
> >example- web based art or graphics programming? The pure application
> of
> >software programs or programming creates the most boring people says
> John
> >Hopkins, quoted by Geert Lovink in his recent book "My First
> Recession"–
> >"it's like amateur photo-club members comparing the length of their
> >telephoto lensesS<caron>" Many in the programming communities are
> distrustful of
> >the humanities because in their view they have little to contribute
> to their
> >field. In addition it is an almost impossible challenge for a single
> human
> >being to keep up with the development of all those tools. Lovink
> writes,
> >"universities still consider the computer/ new media industries as
> somehow
> >emulating a film-industry model, with a stable set of skills each
> person
> >goes out into the world with after graduation." He suggests that
> instead,
> >the most important task is to loosen up to a transient world of
> employment/
> >work/ play and disabusing students of the notion that there is an
> >"industry." It needs problematic, off-track courses, Lovink argues,
> because
> >they usually provide skills that last much longer than the software
> >applications or programming languages of the day. What is in the
> long-term
> >interest of students may not be immediately clear to them and it
> takes
> >courage on the side of the instructor to insist on their vision.
> >
> > I have been asked about the difference between European and US
> American
> >academia. Comparing teaching at the Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany with
> my
> >teaching in American universities I see indeed vast differences. The
> German
> >educational system is heavily based on student's initiative. In
> Britain,
> >where I studied for an M.F.A., most of learning took place within the
> >student group. English tutors contributed inspiring
> cross-disciplinary
> >anecdotes and encouraged a spirit of self-criticism. I taught art
> history,
> >new media art practices and critical theory at universities in the
> North and
> >South West of the United States and now on the East Coast. I
> experienced
> >American students as often not willing to overcome the initial
> hindrances
> >that are needed to make discourse joyful.
> >
> >Reading a text is like entering a room of people talking and unless
> we learn
> >about their previous exchanges we will never be in the know but
> instead get
> >frustrated. Knowledge is nothing innate, nothing we are born with or
> which
> >we inherited. Often mistakenly introduced into this debate are the
> likes of
> >Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison who had little schooling yet high
> >intellectual achievements.
> >
> > All too often students judge texts based on their unwillingness to
> do the
> >initial work that is necessary to enjoy theory. Rather than talking
> about
> >building self-esteem (enough already) we need to talk about hard work
> and
> >discipline (even if that may sound Protestant). How useful are Paulo
> >Freire's notions of a pedagogy of dialogue and informal teaching in
> the
> >context of today's US new media education that already is quite
> informal and
> >horizontal? I see the disinterest in study caused by a widespread
> >delegitimization of reading and print culture, and partially by
> popular
> >culture that glorifies triviality, and mindlessness. Stanley
> Aranowitz in
> >"Education and Cultural Studies" (ed. Henry A. Giroux) writes:
> "School
> >should be a place where the virtues of learning are extolled (a) for
> their
> >own sake and (b) for the purpose of helping students to become more
> active
> >participants in the civic life of their neighborhoods, their cities,
> and the
> >larger world." It is hard to bring everyday political events home, to
> make
> >students realize how deeply linked our lives are to those of the
> people at
> >the other side of town, or in Rwanda, Kosovo, Srebrenica, Afghanistan
> or
> >Iraq. The trivial, localized focus of TV news reporting certainly
> does not
> >help in internationalizing students, in opening up their views to a
> larger
> >horizon. This false localism stops students from aiming with their
> artworks
> >at larger international (new media) art audiences. By the same token
> this
> >localism or regionalism should not prevent new media departments from
> >developing international relationships.
> >
> > In the American consumer-driven educational system, mainly part time
> or
> >untenured faculty's academic careers rely on student evaluations,
> which is
> >where the system in itself is deeply at fault. How can an instructor
> be
> >courageous under these constraints? The meaning of teaching can be
> found in
> >the Latin word "professio," which means declaration. To be a
> professor means
> >to declare your beliefs, which may not by any means go down well with
> >students. This stance purposefully creates tension, which comprises
> true
> >learning, a friction that makes it clearer for a student where s/he
> stands.
> >Teaching, in the sense of Edward Said's notion of the public
> intellectual,
> >cannot mean to please, it cannot aim at consumer sovereignty, and it
> cannot
> >mean that the customer is easily and completely satisfied. The
> consumer
> >model implies that the university offers "services." Courses are
> shaped to
> >satisfy students who think of themselves as consumers who
> conveniently with
> >next to no effort (as in shopping), graduate. If this is what
> teaching is
> >about, it fails its mission. Students should open themselves up to
> >successful learning. And the "success" in "successful learning,"
> according
> >to Bertold Brecht stands for being educational, creating change in
> the real
> >live world. Students should get "electrified" by the widely
> unexplored field
> >of new media.
> >
> >Trebor Scholz
> >
> > —
> >Net Cultures: Art, Politics, and the Everyday
> >http://molodiez.org/net/syllabus.html
> >
> >Fibre Culture New Media Education
> >http://www.fibreculture.org/newmediaed/index.html
> >
> >Geert Lovink "The Battle over New Media Art Education. Experiences
> and
> >Models." in "My First Recession. Critical Internet Culture in
> Transition"
> >V2_/NAi Publishers, 2003
> >
> >
> >
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>
> _________________
> Marisa S. Olson
> Associate Director
> SF Camerawork
> 415. 863. 1001