1 Lecture 1: Course Introduction Professor Victoria Meng

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Lecture 1:Lecture 1:Course IntroductionCourse Introduction

Professor Victoria Meng

In This LectureIn This Lecture

I. Course Expectations and Requirements

II. Introduce Course Topic and Key Terms

Part I:Part I:Course ExpectationsCourse Expectationsand Requirementsand Requirements

1. Instructor

2. Distance learning

3. Graded work

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Instructor: Victoria MengInstructor: Victoria Meng

• BA in Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard-Radcliffe

• MA in Cinema and Media Studies, UCLA

• PhD candidate in Cinema and Media Studies, UCLA

Research InterestsResearch Interests

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• Animation• Documentary• Experimental Media•Chinese Cinemas• New and Digital Media

…and more! One Winter in China (Meng, 2002)

ContactContact

• Victoria.Meng@asu.edu• No T.A.• Two business days• Need time for technical support

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Teaching PhilosophyTeaching Philosophy

To learn is to literally change your mind!• Take active effort and repetition• Requires patience with yourself and

respect for others• Can be frustrating, but can also be fun• Develops awareness and builds self-

confidence

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Distance LearningDistance Learning

• Requires basic technical knowhow• Asynchronous interactivity• Rewards organization and motivation• Must “stay with the program” to

succeed

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Learning TasksLearning Tasks• Readings• Reading Reviews• Screening• Websites• Film Clips• Lectures (audio and

visual)• eBoard            

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Graded WorkGraded Work

• Participation (weekly eboard posts)

• Exams (midterm and final)

• Critical Review (600-750 words)

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No Late Work Accepted!

Very Important!Very Important!

Read the syllabus!Read the syllabus!

Check your email!Check your email!

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Part II:Part II:Course Topic and Key TermsCourse Topic and Key Terms

Guiding questions:• What is this class about?• What is “emerging digital media?”• Why does it matter?• How can we study something that is

changing all the time?

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What is What is “Emerging Digital Media?”“Emerging Digital Media?”

• Emerge: move out of or away from something and come into view; become apparent, important, or prominent.

• Emerging: happening now.• But when is now? When did it start?

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What is What is “Emerging Digital Media?”“Emerging Digital Media?”

• Digitization: to encode diverse forms of information (text, sound, image, moving image, etc.) in binary code. (p.9)

• Digital characteristics: manipulable, networkable, dense, compressible, and impartial. (p.3)

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What is What is “Emerging Digital Media?”“Emerging Digital Media?”

• Media: Technologies for communication• Technology = Tools + Techniques +

Context (p.2, 24-27)• Communication is a social act with

cultural and political implications. (p. 28-39)

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So What?So What?

Why should we study emerging digital media?•It affects our daily lives•It affects our relationships with others•It has interesting properties that can be confusing and counter-intuitive

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So What?So What?Watch lesson clip: Did You Know 2.0

•The rhetoric surrounding emerging digital media can be intimidating.•People often speak of this topic as a crisis, a passing moment of danger and opportunity.•This class can help to put these developments into perspective.

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How Can We Study aHow Can We Study aMoving Target?Moving Target?

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Course OrganizationCourse Organization

Unit I: Imagination and Practice

Unit II: Forms and Styles

Unit III: Identity and Community

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The Three Levels of The Three Levels of TechnologyTechnology

• Tools (Artifacts)

Example: computer and word processor

• Techniques (Activities)

Example: writing a paper using a computer

• Context (Arrangements)

Example: QWERTY, printers, attachments

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The Three Levels of The Three Levels of TechnologyTechnology

• Tools (Artifacts)

Example: letters, telegraph, telephone, email, Twitter/Skype/text/chat/Facebook/blogging…

• Techniques (Activities)

Example: staying in touch with friends and family

• Context (Arrangements)

Example: ?

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Unit I:Unit I:Imagination and PracticeImagination and Practice

Key terms and concepts• Media and history (p.4-12)• Technological determinism (p.22-24)• Technology and culture (p.28-29)• Media, technology and identity

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Unit II:Unit II:Forms and StylesForms and Styles

Key terms and concepts• Automation and creativity• Interactivity and immersion• Modularity and customization• Layers and simulations• Qualitative and quantitative

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Unit III:Unit III:Identity and CommunityIdentity and Community

Key terms and concepts• Access to cyberspace• Conglomeration, convergence,

globalization• Intellectual property• Fandom

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Highlights from the ReadingsHighlights from the Readings

• New media > Digital media > Internet > World Wide Web

• Characteristics, pros, and cons of the internet as a new media technology (Table 1.2, p. 8)

• Characteristics, pros, and cons of the modern information society (Table 2.1, p. 22)

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End of Lecture 1End of Lecture 1

Next Lecture: Post-Book: How do media “forms” affect “content” or “experience?”

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