Course MD701 Winter 2010/11

Hybrid Media

This seminar will reflect the relation of the face and its identity focusing on hybrid culture and the internet. In cooperation with the master seminar IMMERSIVE MEDIA at Furtwangen University

FACE/OFF Digital Crossculture Project

Participants

Tuesday, 12:30am in C3-120
First appointment: September 21, 2010

CENTRAL QUESTIONS
We will open an intercultural discussion between Egyptian and German students about their understanding of the face as a part of their identity and as an expression of their personality. As a starting point we will do a research on the semantics and the tradition of masks and how people nowadays present their faces on social platforms like facebook.

How does a manipulated vision affect our feelings and our social behavior? Why is there a popular social networking called FACE-book, how do we present our likeness in the web and how does this affect our construction of identity? How does religion, culture, fashion and sun glasses affect the appearance of our faces? How do we use our vision in Skype conversations? How does this feel and what is the difference between communicating by sound only, using video or having a real face2face communication? How does the use of the video in Skype affect the private and the public face? Which kind of interFACE are we going to use in 2020?

"No, no, no, don't tell this, don't reveal this...."
Vito Acconci in Face-Off, 1973

ACTIVITY WEEK
During the GUC activity week in the first week of December we plan to visit a partner class at Furtwangen University, which is dealing with the same topic during the semester. In a workshop about the intercultural aspects of the digital face we try to work out cultural characteristics which occur in the use of digital media.

FINAL ASSIGNEMENT
The final assignment of the course will be the construction of a hybrid and digitally transformed image during a fictional Skype dialogue which is based on an own story and technically realized by the software Max5. An accompanying scientific paper of 3-5 pages and a video documentation will contextualize students individual approaches with other art work and research in this field. The papers shall be delivered to conferences like the IVSA in Vancouver/CA and Transcultural Forms of Body Memory at the GUC in 2011.

Those without a report. Please send a self chosen paper, concerning our topic, from one of the well known libraries. Submit it before the Eid holidays

Date	Lecture	Practical Work	Assignments	2Read & Study	Minute & Report
SEPT 21	Intro	Watch Face/Off by John Woo	What is the connection of "Face/Off" and "Face-book"?	1.Interactive Film and the Multiplied Self 2.Facebook Project	Minute
SEPT 28	Facebook and Identity	Introduction to Facebook	Create Fake Facebook Account - Try to be a German and join our FACE/OFF Facebook Group	1.Play and discuss Chatroulette 2.Ursonate	Minute
OCT 05	Final Assignment preparation	Ursonate by Kurt Schwitters	Interpretation of the Ursonate	1.Read and discuss online Through Design and Transdisciplinarity	Minute
OCT 12	Research & Papers, Report about Masks	Online research (ACM, iEEE,...), Write paper outline	Write a short scientific paper: "The use of social networks as a mask of young people in Egypt"	1.Papers from the online research 2.HCI Tutorial	Minute
OCT 19	Concept presentation of the Skype performances	HCI workshop	Each group present their concept for the German students inside the Face/Off FaceBook Group	1.Globalization and Cultural Identity	Minute

Date	Lecture	Practical Work	Assignments	2Read & Study	Minute & Report
OCT 26	Hybrid Culture and Identity	Improvised Skype perfromances - oppositions	Research about Skype; Wiki entry according to a scientific paper, Administration of our Facebook group	1. Improving Cross Cultural Communications through Collaborative Technologies
NOV 02	Conceptual Clearing Phase (CCP 1)	The Social Network - Movie	Work on Skype performance	1.Face/off in the body of the enemy by Robert Eikmeyer
NOV 09	Conceptual Clearing Phase (CCP 2)	Work on Skype performance	Work on Skype performance	Read and discuss online Mutual Incorporation by Fuchs and De Jaegher
NOV 16	Eid Holidays
NOV 23	Midterm Exams	Individual group meetings	will take place!!
DEC 07	Production Week	Work on Skype performance	Work on Skype performance	...
DEC 14	Activity Week at Furtwangen University. Workshop with the master course Immersive Media of Prof. Dr. Bruno Friedmann and Robert Eikmeyer
DEC 21	Final Supervision & 3 student reports	Class Discussion	WIKI Documentation	...
DEC 28	No lecture	free work	Enhancing Projects, WIKI Documentation	...
JAN 04	Final Presentation	Class Discussion	...	...