Work

Required Material

  • A Domain of Your Own
  • A Slack account
  • Readings and other material online

Required Work

The required work for DIG 401 will take several forms, detailed below: (1) engagement; (2) semi-weekly “hacks”; (3) a final “subjunctive” project; and (4) a portfolio review of your work for DIG 401.

(1) This class is highly interactive and your success will depend upon continual engagement with the readings and in-class and out-of-class activities. You’ll also need to participate on the Slack channel for the class—where we’ll exchange ideas, share links, and chat about DIG 401.

Participation is so essential to your final grade that I will not even calculate it.

(2) Over the course of the semester you will create a series of “deep” hacks. What constitutes a “deep” hack—rather than a superficial hack—will be something we debate throughout the semester. The ideal, though, are hacks that are complex, intense, connected, and shareable. Each hack will be accompanied by an Artist’s Statement of about 1,500 words. In addition to the artifact itself and artist statement, you will also document the development of your hack on your domain. Documentation may include photos, videos, source material, and so on. The criteria for these hacks will vary according to the particulars of the assignment, but in general I will evaluate the hacks on the basis of intention, craft, theme, and argument. I am keeping a running list of possible hack ideas, from which we will draw the actual hack assignments.

The deep hacks will be worth 80% of your final grade.

(3) The final project will be an subjunctive project. The project is meant to be conjectural, or speculative, working in the realm of design fiction rather than the here and now. You will create design documents, exploded views, wireframes, and prototypes for this project—as well as think playfully and seriously about the theoretical implications of your project. Think of this final project as a subversive Kickstarter Project, in which you pitch a what-if idea. We will exercise—and critique—the design thinking process as part of the impossible project.

The final project will be worth 10% of your final grade.

(4) The portfolio review is a one-on-one interview with me in which you present a online exhibit of your work and provide a reflective frame around that work. Your portfolio will be an act of curation, preservation, and contemplation.

The exhibit will be worth 10% of your final grade.