Hello everyone and welcome to Week 2 of the course, where we venture into our first thematic block: Cyberculture. Underneath the Cyberculture tab you will find an introduction to this subject area, followed by a break-down of what we are going to try and achieve within this part of the course. Looking at this week in particular, this is what we would like you to do…
After a fairly gentle opening last week where we spent time becoming orientated to the ethos of EDC course and the Miro environment, it is time to throw ourselves into some of our course reading, beginning with the articles by Lesley Gourlay (2012) and Datta and Thomas (2021), and the chapters by Vincent Miller (2011) and Jonathan Sterne (2006). As I explain in the Cyberculture reading section of this site, these resources will combine to introduce the subject and suggest its relevance to educational practices. Please try and start on these readings as early as possible in the week. As of posting this introduction all the different resources are available within the University library (although some of the Cyberculture readings are e-reserve and can be accessed via our moodle site) – let me know by email, though, if you have a problem.
If time allows, please do also try and dip into the chapters on visual methods by Gillian Rose (2016) and Natasa Lackovic (2020). That said, there’s plenty to think about within the core cyberculture reading therefore it’s fine to leave these methods chapters until next week: whatever works best for you. Each block will have readings related to particular methods that we encourage you to use (and which will serve you well later on in the programme, particularly if and when you are doing a dissertation).
As soon as you have started to explore any of the cyberculture readings you can begin to seek out content to add to your gallery space within our online exhibition. Bear in mind that, as curator of your own space, you have the power to remove or alter the content at any point in this block as you wish. If we can offer a suggestion, we think a nice way of beginning this work would be to seek out a short film or film excerpt from Vimeo or YouTube that has a clear connection with any aspect of the cyberculture reading. You can then nominate this (or another) clip and it can be your entry for the Cyberculture Film Festival in Week 3.
Speaking of the Cyberculture Film Festival, the dates for our screenings are available within that section of the course site therefore put either (or both) sessions in your diary and fill in the signup form to let us know which session you’ll attend (and thanks if you have already done this).
Once you’ve had a chance to add some content to you own gallery why not take a stroll through the rest of the exhibition? As you encounter artefacts that interest you, feel free to add a comment, question or other piece of encouragement or feedback alongside the work.
That’s plenty to be getting on with. Have a great week everyone and we’ll look forward to dropping into the Cyberculture exhibition from time-to-time.