How have digital technologies transformed mass media such as film, photography, print, and telecommunications? What, precisely, is “new” about digital new media? Using a variety of historical and contemporary sources, this class will survey the history of several technologies we now consider to be “new media”: computers, video games, the Internet, and digital photography. We will focus on how theorists of film and media have regarded technological change, and how shifting technologies impact aesthetics.
Because the requirements of social distancing will not allow us to complete the archive trips and in-class activities originally a part of this class, I have organized the course around a series of “Guided Activities” that students can complete on their own. It is my hope that these activities insert some novelty and variety into the course that partly makes up for the lack of in-person discussion.