1 Lecture 1: Course Introduction Professor Victoria Meng

In This Lecture I. Course Expectations and Requirements II. Introduce Course Topic and Key Terms

Part I: Course Expectations and Requirements 1.Instructor 2.Distance learning 3.Graded work

4 Instructor: 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 Interests 5 Animation Documentary Experimental Media Chinese Cinemas New and Digital Media …and more! One Winter in China (Meng, 2002)

Contact No T.A. Two business days Need time for technical support 6

Teaching 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 7

Distance Learning Requires basic technical knowhow Asynchronous interactivity Rewards organization and motivation Must “stay with the program” to succeed 8

Learning Tasks Readings Reading Reviews Screening Websites Film Clips Lectures (audio and visual) eBoard 9

Graded Work Participation (weekly eboard posts) Exams (midterm and final) Critical Review ( words) 10 No Late Work Accepted!

Very Important! Read the syllabus! Check your ! 11

Part II: Course 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? 12

What is “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? 13

What is “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) 14

What is “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 ) 15

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 16

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. 17

How Can We Study a Moving Target? 18

Course Organization Unit I: Imagination and Practice Unit II: Forms and Styles Unit III: Identity and Community 19

The Three Levels of Technology Tools (Artifacts) Example: computer and word processor Techniques (Activities) Example: writing a paper using a computer Context (Arrangements) Example: QWERTY, printers, attachments 20

The Three Levels of Technology Tools (Artifacts) Example: letters, telegraph, telephone, , Twitter/Skype/text/chat/Facebook/blogging… Techniques (Activities) Example: staying in touch with friends and family Context (Arrangements) Example: ? 21

Unit I: Imagination 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 22

Unit II: Forms and Styles Key terms and concepts Automation and creativity Interactivity and immersion Modularity and customization Layers and simulations Qualitative and quantitative 23

Unit III: Identity and Community Key terms and concepts Access to cyberspace Conglomeration, convergence, globalization Intellectual property Fandom 24

Highlights 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) 25

End of Lecture 1 Next Lecture: Post-Book: How do media “forms” affect “content” or “experience?” 26