Visible to members of this folder

0 syllabus: SoundSCAPE

SOUNDSCAPE & SCORE: Radical Ambience

Towards an Ethology of urban, immersive, synaesthetic augmented reality landscapes

Faculty: Ed Keller External Partners: TBA

Tuesday: 4:00pm - 6:40pm 66 5th Ave Room: 710

The New School UTNS5200

User-uploaded image: eno-discreet-music.jpg

Brian Eno, liner notes for Discreet Music

KEY WORKING DOCUMENTS

+00 assignments: SoundSCAPE

+00 schedule: SoundSCAPE [guest workshops, talks, etc]

+00 links: SOUNDSCAPE & SCORE [readings, playlists, etc]

+SoundSCAPE TECH [softs, etc]

_ READINGS [PRIVATE LINK: Google docs- pdfs etc.]

+Street mapping exercise Sept 17

“There is an extraordinary passage at the end of Alexandr Blok's lecture on the 84th anniversary of the death of Pushkin:

'In the infinite depths of the spirit where man is man no longer, in those depths inaccessible to the state and society, there are sound waves similar to the ether waves which surround the universe. There, rhythmic vibrations pulsate like those that shape mountains, winds, marine currents, the animal and vegetable worlds.'

"Scelsi understands a single sound as a limitless sonic world that can stand by itself as independent from any other sound. Each sound is almost like a unique organism characterized by its inner life consisting of various organic materials. ….”

from Tanmatras: The Life and Work of Giacinto Scelsi by Robin Freeman

OVERVIEW

This collab seminar will develop sonic, filmic, urban, XR and/or AR projects drawing on and amplifying musical, filmic, and field sonic/visual experiences in the city and in virtual reality. We will conduct a mini-seminar for 5 weeks at the start of the semester surveying cinematic, sound, and VR precedents. Projects will then develop manifesto driven responses using sound, video, spatial design, and/or XR tools such as Unity as the engine for immersive audio/visual experience.

An underlying thesis which the seminar will explore follows the idea unpacked in Gary Tomlinson’s A Million Years of Music, which effectively contends that human cognitive evolution [the emergence of sapient self awareness] was a result of countless interactions with a sonic landscape and taskscape. Our design work [sound, image, VR, XR] in this seminar will re-site this evolutionary model of gesture/perception in the contemporary techno-scape by framing against the very long arc of cognitive evolution. The collab folds blockchain and AI into the mix, as an external partner, RealityCode, is a new artist-focused, blockchain based platform launching this year. The semester will conclude with presentations, performances, and installations as well as a conference.

The semester ends with a full day+ conference in December showcasing all work and bringing guests/sponsors.

MANIFESTO

‘The world… is sound…’

αἰὼν παῖς ἐστι παίζων, πεσσεύων· παιδὸς ἡ βασιληίη.

Time is a child at play, playing draughts; a child's is the kingdom.

-Heraclitus (fragment B 52 DK)

‘From such impressions you gather yourself, you win yourself back from the clamoring multiplicity, and slowly learn to know a very few things in which the eternal is reflected, which you love and in which your solitude allows you to take part.’ Rilke, letters

What role has our sonic landscape played in the emergence of planetary sapience/self awareness? Across the human, animal and plant kingdoms, to entire cities and ecosystems, we are formed by the OUTSIDENESS of SONIC scapes- from ropy interlocked strands of drone to spectral atmospherics… opening of Musil’s ‘Man Without Qualities’… city as cognitive machine, exosomatic DNA, ontogeny/phylogeny, sonic pharmakon… What deep empathies are possible through sonic practice? Relations between others- human and non human?

How can sonic practices resist the inexorable flows of capital? Should they? What would a radical ambience be? How can we articulate projects across the spectrum of

soundscape- a found landscape- and score- an intentional, prethought, predesigned, determining mode of sonic production?

As Gary Tomlinson says: ‘…they arose from the necessities facing groups of nonmusical, nonlinguistic hominins as they together sought subsistence or survival in the material ecologies around them. Modern musicking and language, in a real sense, did not develop at all. Instead they fell out, as belated emergences, from patterns of sociality and communication neither musical nor linguistic that can be traced to periods long before Homo sapiens existed. As they coalesced, they formed not only the modern connections between them that most accounts have displaced back onto their origins but also other aspects definitive of our human modernity. ‘

COLLABORATIONS, GUESTS, CONFERENCE

Workshops and symposia across the semester will support aesthetic/theoretical discussions and technical deep dives. Confirmed guests include Gary Tomlinson, Ezio Blasetti, Eric Ellingsen, David Rothenberg, Anne Guthrie, Tanya Kalmanovitch, Shannon Mattern, David Roden, Elliott Sharp, Clara Latham, Dejan Lukic, Julie Napolin, Juan Azulay, Enrique Ramirez, Kazys Varnelis, Jerry Huang; more TBA.

METHODOLOGY and WORKFLOW

It will be best to imagine this course as a combination of a seminar, a collab, a mini design studio, and a slow-burn ongoing R&D speculative design charrette.

In terms of the semester workflow, we will follow this arc, roughly speaking:

• 4-5 weeks of history/theory seminar- lectures on assigned material, while students

do a deep dive into dossiers of text/image/sound/space which is provided. EK and guests- film, sound, city, game, philosophy

• 4-5 weeks of initial project manifesto workshopping, and team forming

• 4-5 weeks of project development

• in first weeks students work in parallel using resources dossier,

exploring films, readings, music, sound, methods, tech, links;

there will be sounding / analysis / scoring / diagramming / mapping assignments,

and/but you are directed to do research with a very open mind, always asking:

what sound is necessary? What can sound do? What is the Sound - Space - Image - Movement relationship we want to create?

• assigns are aimed at concept building, extending Drift Cinema into sound

• workshops scattered thruout semester with special guests

• around ~ week 5-6, students form teams to work on projects

• Ed Keller will maintain ongoing in class notes and workshopping- mindmaps,

outlines, themes, media

• online platforms for collaboration include: dropbox Paper for syllabus, resources;

youtube/vimeo/soundcloud/bandcamp for image/sound; other platforms TBC

• final work to be presented at New School; RPI CRAIVE Lab as possible venue December 2019

This course will not strictly use any one software. In fact, a wide range of media platforms- from 'only' sonics all the way to XR- should be considered as possible platforms for your research. You will have the option to work in teams, so it is very possible you'll have a coder on a team with other creatives. This has worked quite well over the past ten years in other seminar/collabs we've run. Here is one example from a few years back: https://parsonsnws.wordpress.com/

SPONSORS

Parsons Center for Transformative Media http://ctm.parsons.edu/

FUNDING/DONATIONS from SPONSORS supports:

• workshops

• conference in December- speakers honoraria, travel

• hardware, software, tutorials -

TBC: microphones, headsets/goggles/controllers, etc

EXTERNAL COLLABORATION [TBC]

In December 2019, we have the opportunity to showcase student work at RPI in the CRAIVE Lab at the invitation of Carla Leitao, who has been directing studios and seminars there for 5 years. CRAIVE is a 360 degree immersive video room with 128 channel sound. Students from The New School and RPI will come together for a workshop at RPI Craive Lab, date TBC and present their work there. https://www.clatcraive.net/

PREVIOUS COLLABS and CONFERENCES

See our recent collab with Ben Goertzel's SingularityNet. Parsons course, with guest workshops,

and a full day conference at end of semester which students presented at.

http://ctm.parsons.edu/agent-intellects/

Our recent ‘Limits of Guitar’ collab and two day Sonic Pharmakon event:

http://ctm.parsons.edu/sonic-pharmakon/

OUTCOMES

• Contemporary urban/ubiquitous/ambient media will be theorized and contextualized against the past century of film, video, music, and sonics; students will achieve a conceptual grasp of this history, and use it to inform projects.

• The soundscape will be theorized and explored as a key toolkit in the resistance to cognitive capitalism.

• Participants will develop novel theories of ambient/immersive/pervasive aesthetic experience and use these concepts in prototype projects.

• Participants will work in a ‘mini studio’ environment to develop their work to a presentation/performance/installation level.

• Students will grasp the scope of what is at stake aesthetically and economically in emerging XR/AR tech.

• Students will have the opportunity for presentation and dialog in a conference attended by thought leaders in the sound/AR/XR space.

Grading Standards

Undergraduate

A [4.0; 96–100%]

Work of exceptional quality, which often goes beyond the stated goals of the course

A- [3.7; 91 –95%]

Work of very high quality

B+ [3.3; 86–90%]

Work of high quality that indicates substantially higher than average abilities

B [3.0; 81–85%]

Very good work that satisfies the goals of the course

B- [2.7; 76–80%]Good work

C+ [2.3; 71–75%]

Above-average work

C [2.0; 66–70%]

Average work that indicates an understanding of the course material; passable

Satisfactory completion of a course is considered to be a grade of C or higher.

C- [1.7; 61–65%]

Passing work but below good academic standing

D [1.0; 46–60%]

Below-average work that indicates a student does not fully understand the assignments;

Probation level though passing for credit

F [0.0; 0–45%]

Failure, no credit

Graduate

A Work of exceptional quality

A- Work of high quality

B+ Very good work

B Good work; satisfies course requirements

Satisfactory completion of a course is considered to be a grade of B or higher.

B- Below-average work

C+ Less than adequate work

C Well below average work

C- Poor work; lowest possible passing grade

F Failure

GM Grade missing for an individual

Grades of D are not used in graduate level courses.

Grade of W

The grade of W may be issued by the Office of the Registrar to a student who officially withdraws from a course within the applicable deadline. There is no academic penalty, but the grade will appear on the student transcript. A grade of W may also be issued by an instructor to a graduate student (except at Parsons and Mannes) who has not completed course requirements nor arranged for an Incomplete.

Grade of WF

The grade of WF is issued by an instructor to a student (all undergraduates and all graduate students) who has not attended or not completed all required work in a course but did not officially withdraw before the withdrawal deadline. It differs from an “F,” which would indicate that the student technically completed requirements but that the level of work did not qualify for a passing grade. The WF is equivalent to an F in calculating the grade point average (zero grade points), and no credit is awarded.

Grades of Incomplete

The grade of I, or temporary incomplete, may be granted to a student under unusual and extenuating circumstances, such as when the student’s academic life is interrupted by a medical or personal emergency. This mark is not given automatically but only upon the student’s request and at the discretion of the instructor. A Request for Incomplete form must be completed and signed by student and instructor. The time allowed for completion of the work and removal of the “I” mark will be set by the instructor with the following limitations:

Undergraduate students: Work must be completed no later than the seventh week of the following fall semester for spring or summer term incompletes and no later than the seventh week of the following spring semester for fall term incompletes. Grades of “I” not revised in the prescribed time will be recorded as a final grade of “WF” by the Office of the Registrar.

Graduate students: Work must be completed no later than one year following the end of the class. Grades of “I” not revised in the prescribed time will be recorded as a final grade of “WF” (for Parsons and Mannes graduate students) or “N” (for all other graduate students) by the Office of the Registrar. The grade of “N” does not affect the GPA but does indicate a permanent incomplete.

Divisional, Program and Class Policies

● Responsibility

Students are responsible for all assignments, even if they are absent. Late assignments, failure to complete the assignments for class discussion and/or critique, and lack of preparedness for in-class discussions, presentations and/or critiques will jeopardize your successful completion of this course.

● Participation

Class participation is an essential part of class and includes: keeping up with reading, assignments, projects, contributing meaningfully to class discussions, active participation in group work, and coming to class regularly and on time.

● Attendance

Faculty members may fail any student who is absent for a significant portion of class time. A significant portion of class time is defined as three absences for classes that meet once per week and four absences for classes that meet two or more times per week. During intensive summer sessions a significant portion of class time is defined as two absences. Lateness or early departure from class may also translate into one full absence.

● Blackboard or Canvas

Use of Blackboard may be an important resource for this class. Students should check it for announcements before coming to class each week.

● Delays

In rare instances, I may be delayed arriving to class. If I have not arrived by the time class is scheduled to start, you must wait a minimum of thirty minutes for my arrival. In the event that I will miss class entirely, a sign will be posted at the classroom indicating your assignment for the next class meeting.

● Electronic Devices

Use of electronic devices (phones, tablets, laptops) is permitted when the device is being used in relation to the course's work. All other uses are prohibited in the classroom and devices should be turned off before class starts.

● Academic Honesty and Integrity

The New School views “academic honesty and integrity” as the duty of every member of an academic community to claim authorship for his or her own work and only for that work, and to recognize the contributions of others accurately and completely. This obligation is fundamental to the integrity of intellectual debate, and creative and academic pursuits. Academic honesty and integrity includes accurate use of quotations, as well as appropriate and explicit citation of sources in instances of paraphrasing and describing ideas, or reporting on research findings or any aspect of the work of others (including that of faculty members and other students). Academic dishonesty results from infractions of this “accurate use”. The standards of academic honesty and integrity, and citation of sources, apply to all forms of academic work, including submissions of drafts of final papers or projects. All members of the University community are expected to conduct themselves in accord with the standards of academic honesty and integrity. Please see the complete policy in the Parsons Catalog.

It is the responsibility of students to learn the procedures specific to their discipline for correctly and appropriately differentiating their own work from that of others. Compromising your academic integrity may lead to serious consequences, including (but not limited to) one or more of the following: failure of the assignment, failure of the course, academic warning, disciplinary probation, suspension from the university, or dismissal from the university.

● Student Disability Services (SDS)

In keeping with the University’s policy of providing equal access for students with disabilities, any student with a disability who needs academic accommodations is welcome to meet with me privately. All conversations will be kept confidential. Students requesting any accommodations will also need to meet with Jason Luchs in the Office of Student Disability Services, who will conduct an intake, and if appropriate, provide an academic accommodation notification letter to you to bring to me. SDS assists students with disabilities in need of academic and programmatic accommodations as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. http://www.newschool.edu/studentservices/disability/.

0 syllabus: SoundSCAPE
SOUNDSCAPE & SCORE: Radical Ambience
KEY WORKING DOCUMENTS
OVERVIEW
MANIFESTO
COLLABORATIONS, GUESTS, CONFERENCE
METHODOLOGY and WORKFLOW
SPONSORS
FUNDING/DONATIONS from SPONSORS supports:
EXTERNAL COLLABORATION [TBC]
PREVIOUS COLLABS and CONFERENCES
OUTCOMES
Grading Standards

​​SOUNDSCAPE & SCORE: Radical Ambience

​​OUTCOMES

SOUNDSCAPE & SCORE: Radical Ambience

OUTCOMES