Fachmodul
The Network Is The Machine: Web Technologies for People, Things and the Coming Singularity
Instructor: Jason Reizner
Credits: 6 ECTS, 4 SWS
Capacity: max. 15 students
Language: English
Date: Dienstag/Tuesday, 13:30-16:45
Location: Marienstr. 7b, Room 104
First Meeting: 18 October 2016, 13:30
Description
Could the ubiquity of the contemporary web and its evolution from data transmission medium to universal infrastructure and interface for the interconnection of 'everything' presage what Kurzweil has titled 'the coming Singularity?' As the world enters what are possibly the waning years of human-machine plurality, there is still time to examine the technological and sociocultural phenomenon that is the world wide web, and its role not just in the production, mediation and dissemination of human information, knowledge and culture, but also its function in the gradual unification of all objects, devices and Things, great and small, into an all-encompassing rhizomatic machine that will eventually envelope all of humankind. This module will focus on the concept of Web of Things as a central platform, wherein the web itself is no longer just an application, but an environment for interaction (and possibly assimilation) between People and Things, such as data, devices and services. Participants will evaluate and employ contemporary strategies and methodologies for developing a web-connected device, object, installation, application or service.
Admission requirements
Concurrent enrollment in another IFD course offering, or with instructor permission.
Registration procedure
Please send an email with your name, degree program, technical background and a brief motivation for taking this module before 15. October 2016 to: jason.reizner [ät] uni-weimar [punkt] de
A valid @uni-weimar.de email address is required for registration (no other mailing addresses will be accepted). Why?
Evaluation
Successful completion of the course is dependent on regular attendance, active participation, completion of weekly assignments and delivery of a relevant semester project. Please refer to the Evaluation Rubric for more details.
Eligible participants
Fachmodul:
MFA Medienkunst/-gestaltung, MFA Media Art and Design, MSc MediaArchitecture
Syllabus (subject to change)
18 October 2016
Week 1
Introduction
Course Organization
Administrative Housekeeping
Assignment: Read the introduction to Human Information Retrieval by Julian Warner
25 October 2016
Week 2
A Brief History of Human Information, Retrieval
Assignment: Read the first chapter of Paper Machines: About Cards and Catalogs, 1548-1929 by Markus Krajewski
1 November 2016
Week 3
Paper: The first killer App
8 November 2016
Week 4
15 November 2016
Week 5
22 November 2016
Week 6
29 November 2016
Week 7
6 December 2016
Week 8
13 December 2016
Week 9
3 January 2017
Week 10
10 January 2017
Week 11
17 January 2017
Week 12
24 January 2017
Week 13
31 January 2017
Week 14
Further Reading
TBA