Course Syllabus

Below you'll find the course syllabus and the schedule for our readings and projects this semester

Download a PDF of the course syllabus here

DCC 106

Performing the Virtual

COURSE SYLLABUS

Lecture:

Tuesdays 4:00-4:50pm
Susquehanna 1119

Sections:

Section 0101 (with Krista): Tuesday 6-9pm in QAMPR

Section 0102 (with Jarah): Wednesday 6-9 in QAMPR

Section 0103 (with Leah): Wednesday 6-9 in Anne Arundel 0120

Faculty: 

Krista Caballero
E-mail: klc@umd.edu
Office: 0103 Queen Anne’s Hall
Office Phone: 301.405.2866
Office Hours: by appointment

 Dr. Jason Farman
E-mail: jasonfarman@gmail.com
Office: 2107B Holzapfel Hall
Office Phone: 301.405.9524
Office Hours: Tuesdays 11-12:30 and Thursdays 8:30-9:30

Leah Flake
E-mail: flake.leah@gmail.com
Office: 0103 Queen Anne’s Hall
Office Phone: 301.405.2866
Office Hours: by appointment/email

Jarah Moesch
E-mail: jarah.mo@gmail.com
Office: 0103 Queen Anne’s Hall
Office Phone: 301.405.2866
Office Hours: by appointment/email

Description:

In a digital culture where we are increasingly communicating through asynchronous forms, what is the value of live events? Does technology enhance or disrupt the practices of face-to-face gatherings? Why are we drawn to virtual experiences? An­swers to these questions require us to examine the major themes, issues, and ques­tions that arise between the relationship of the “virtual” and the “real.” This course will study the idea of virtuality by exploring the long history of the word’s usage, from its Latin roots to later uses in computing culture. We will trace the development of “the virtual” beginning in the 1400s (when it was understood as external forces and powers) through the 1600s (when religious communities used the word to stand in for a link between the physical world and the metaphysical world of the afterlife). Looking at our contemporary practices through this historical lens, we will see that these practices of virtuality are founded on an experience of layered reality.

This team-taught course is heavily dependent on an interdisciplinary approach, coupling hands-on experimentation with a curriculum designed to focus awareness on the historical, theoretical, and cultural contexts in which digital creativity hap­pens. Therefore, the questions and ideas raised above will be explored in tandem with creating a large-scale digital production. As a class, you will collaborate from inception to production to develop one vital component of this larger production. The outcome might range from live performance to game design but will focus on the major themes of the course.

Some questions this course will pose:

 

What You Will Learn in this Class (Some of Our Course Objectives):

Required Texts:
All readings will be available through online links in the syllabus or posted on ELMS.

Grades:

Collaborative Final Project:

An integral component of this course is the collaborative digital media production, which will be performed as part of your final at the end of the semester. Therefore, participation in this production is a significant component of your grade. The class will be divided into 3 labs based upon interest. Each group will be responsible for developing a par­ticular component of the production and it is expected that you fully participate in every aspect of the process.

This semester we will create an adaptation of “The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forster utilizing hybrid puppetry as the method of creative expression. This production aims to push the boundaries of puppetry by fusing digital technologies into the very fabric of the objects created. In addition, the Kinect will be utilized alongside video projections to explore the ways in which various technologies can push perfor­mance and cause us to examine our ideas of the “virtual” and the “real.”

The collaborative final project will be worth 25% of your grade.

Lab Structure:

Labs each week will be structured (loosely) as follows:

Part I: Discussion

Part II: Production

NOTE: There will be a 15 minute break during this 3 hour block.  Please either eat before class or bring snacks with you as the break will not be long enough for you to go to the dining hall.

Active Engagement and Collaboration:

Being actively engaged with the course material and being a constructive collaborator is crucial to the learning you will experience in this class. Because this is a discussion-driven and hands-on class, the quality of the class for everyone is in large part dependent on the quality of preparation and visible engagement of each participant. Please realize that although you may have prepared the readings and assignments and may be listening to others, if you do not actively demonstrate your preparation and ideas in discussion, there is no way to observe and, hence, evaluate the quality of your preparation and participation.

During lab every week, each subteam will think about/discuss their ‘object/focus’ in relation to the course readings and lecture during discussion time. Each group must submit via e-mail to your lab faculty 3-5 questions prior to the beginning of lab every week. Come to class prepared to facilitate dialogue around those questions.

Each student will be required to either participate in a working group for the semester or attend two co-curricular labs, including film screenings, talks from guest speakers, and workshops. The schedule for co-curricular labs will be posted on the calendar on the DCC website.

Your active engagement and collaboration is worth 20% of your final grade.

Production Logbook:
You will be required to keep a production book documenting your work process and team decisions. The format and outcome will vary based on which section and will be discussed in lab. Throughout the semester, you will record written critical analyses in your production log. These should move beyond mere summary to critically analyze what you are learning and explore the relationships between ideas. The intent is to synthesize the theoretical with the process of creation taking place in the lab space and then offer your own analysis, response, and questions. Course readings should also be thoughtfully integrated as you explore the major issues and questions posed by the course.

Your production logbook is worth 15% of your final grade.

Twitter Responses:
You will need a Twitter account to interact with the course readings and the in-class lectures. You may set up a separate account just for this class. Please be sure to give your username to your section leader.

All tweets must include the hashtag #dcc106.

Your baseline score is out of 16 points; exceptional posts and uses of Twitter may garner you a bonus score up to a maximum of 20. To gain the 4 bonus points (for a total of 20 points for the semester), you must post especially insightful posts, provides useful links to outside material, or offers consistently helpful and engaged responses to classmates’ posts.  Tweeting multiple times in some weeks will not make up for weeks that you miss.

At the end of the semester, you must turn an archive of your tweets throughout the semester. This archive must be emailed to dcc-honors@umd.edu by April 30th. You may want to use archiving tools like Tweetbackup.com, Archivist, or the Google Docs spreadsheet found at: http://bit.ly/twitter-archive-gdocs

Your Twitter Responses are worth 10% of your grade.

Written Assignments:

Throughout the semester, you will turn in several written assignments. These should move beyond mere summary to critically analyze what you are learning and explore the relationships between ideas. The intent is to synthesize the theoretical with the process of creation taking place in the lab space and then offer your own analysis, response, and questions. Course readings should also be thoughtfully integrated as you explore the major issues and questions posed by the course.

These papers must be written in 12 point Times New Roman font, double spaced, and cite sources accurately in MLA or APA style. You must turn in your written as­signments electronically as Word documents or PDFs. You must email your paper directly to your lab leader. No late work will be accepted.

Midterm
Your midterm will include the following components. Please note that the due dates for these elements fall on different dates (see the schedule below).

Proposal:
As a group you will write 3 pages documenting your proposed team plan for your particular object or focus area. This should include title, description, audience experience, what you’re doing, how you’re doing it. As an individual, you will also turn in 1 page detailing your own process and responsibilities.

Your proposal must be written in 12 point Times New Roman font, double spaced, and cite sources accurately in MLA or APA style. You must turn in your written as­signments electronically as Word documents or PDFs. You must email your paper directly to your lab faculty. No late work will be accepted.

Schematics:
Include your team’s 3 best schematics for your design. This can be hand-drawn or digital, however you must annotate the designs so that anyone looking at them can understand how it will be built.

Materials List:
This list should include all components and tools you will need to create your object(s). You will source every component and list 2 places where each item can be purchased. Also include any other information needed to purchase these items.

Budget:
Using your materials list, create a budget for your project.  All components and tools must be included in this list.  Include high and low prices.

Note on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism:
The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html.

Any source that you draw ideas and quotes from must be cited accurately in your paper in APA or MLA style. If you use any source in your work without correctly cit­ing the work, this constitutes plagiarism. Any intentional plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the assignment and may result in a failing grade for the course.

Plagiarism:

Category A:

Sloppiness. Automatic “0” on paper, with option to rewrite for no better than a “C”

Category B:

Ignorance. Automatic “0” on paper, with option to rewrite for no better than a “C”

Category C:

Obvious Conscious Cheating. Automatic “0” on paper, with no option for rewriting

Students caught plagiarizing a second time will be asked to leave the class and will receive an automatic “0” in the course.

Types of Plagiarism

Students with Disabilities:

Any student eligible for and requesting reasonable academic accommodations due to a disability is requested to provide, to the instructor in office hours, a letter of accommodation from the Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) within the first two weeks of the semester. It is also the student’s responsibility to inform the in­structor of any intended absences from exams for religious observances during the first two weeks of the semester. Any regrade requests will need to be submitted in writing, within two business days of the grades being posted, and please note that regrades might lead to scores going down if we notice additional errors.

—Please Note: This syllabus is subject to change at any time according to the professor’s discretion.  The assignments below may also include readings handed out in class, which each student is responsible for completing.

 

Schedule

Part I: The Context of Performance and Virtuality
Week 1 — Introduction to the Course
Jan. 29

Week 2 — The Virtual and the Real
Feb. 5

• Adriana de Souza e Silva and Daniel M. Sutko, “Theorizing Locative Technologies

through Philosophies of the Virtual,” in Communication Theory 21 (2011): 23-42.

Week 3 — Social Media and Performances of Identity

Feb. 12

Week 4 — Immediacy and Hypermediacy: Performing Immersion
Feb. 19

Week 5 — From Kitchen Sink Dramas to Breaking the Fourth Wall: The Journey from Realism to the Avant-Garde

Feb. 26

Part II: A Historical Overview

Week 6: The History of Technologies in Performance
March 5

Week 7 — Recording, “Real Time,” and Liveness
March 12

Week 8 — Spring Break
March 19

Week 9 — In-Class Lab

March 26

Week 10 — Cyborg Theatre: The Body in Performance
April 2

Part III: Issues in Practice and Creation
Week 11 — Theatre as a Site for Opposition and Resistance
April 9

Week 12 — Group Presentations: Section 0102

April 16

 

Week 13 — Group Presentations: Section 0103

April 23

Week 14 — Group Presentations: Section 0101
April 30

Week 15 — No Lecture: Full Run Through of Performance

Week 16 — Finals Week