Course: Media archeology

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Course title Media archeology
Course code KFHS/K503
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminary
Level of course Master
Year of study 1
Semester Winter
Number of ECTS credits 4
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Kolář Martin, Mgr. Ph.D.
  • Pokorný Vít, Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
In the context of the posthumanist focus of the study, the course will focus on archaeologies of media in the classical, avant-garde, post-avant-garde and neo-avant-garde periods, and contemporary understandings of the medium. The aim of the course is to introduce the phenomenon of media (e.g. design); understood not only in terms of mediation but also lifestyle; on two interrelated levels. The first is a kind of archaeology of media, that is, the presentation of forms that is historically based, as part of a certain story - histoire - with an emphasis on issues related, among other things, to design traditions that originate in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and culminate in avant-garde thinking. The neo-avant-garde and post-avant-garde interact with these forms by, on the one hand, defining themselves in relation to them or, on the other, by hybridising them. Examples include both deconstructivist thinking and the application of various models based on the rhizome principle. In addition to this, it should be remembered that the popularity of certain media, such as design, as it corresponds to contemporary experience, is temporally linked to the practices of the 1970s, when it is possible to speak of a space without meaning but with design. Which is related to the phenomenon of "folle du logis", that is, the medium of television and the phenomenon of scifi and imagination. The procedure outlined then allows us, in the second level we will follow, to think the theme in terms of the transformations and layering of paradigms and their interpenetration. This is both from a purely formal perspective and with regard to somaesthetics, environmental issues, political practice and quality of life. Outline of the sessions: 1.) Basic definition of terms (design, form, shape, idea, object, environment...) and temporal definition within the tradition (Biedermeier, avant-garde, neo-avant-garde, post-avant-garde, deconstruction, somaesthetics, biopolitics, lifestyle...). 2.)Metaphor, cognitive definitions and paradigms - "Artistic Revolutions"? Aesthetic foundations and the history of ideas in the thought of Thomas T. Khun, Arthur O. Lovejoy, Stephen C. Pepper and Nathalie Heinich in the context of art and design theory. 3.) Paradigm shifts as exemplified by the layout of the modern and contemporary design exhibition at the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou. 4.) The heritage of the 18th and 19th centuries or, little "orientalisms" - a few remarks on lifestyle. 5.) Totalizing thought and fascination as exemplified by the work of Le Corbusier in the context of Nazi ideology. Parallels and differences with the avant-garde of "Eastern" Europe. 6.) Deconstructive tendencies and not only in architecture. Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman.) The Fool in the House, or television as a medium for imagining design. 9.) Gilles Deleuze: strobes, nets and rhizomes. 10.) Richard Shusterman and somesthetics. Bodily aspects in contemporary design. 11.) Alain de Botton and design, quality of life and contemporary lifestyle. 12.) Optional topic based on discussion with students and course evaluation (two blocks).

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified, unspecified, unspecified, unspecified, unspecified, unspecified
Learning outcomes
The course focuses on the archaeology of media in the classical period, the avant-garde, post-avant-garde and neo-avant-garde, and contemporary understandings of the medium. The aim of the course is to introduce the phenomenon of the medium (e.g. design); understood not only in the sense of mediator but also co-creator of a lifestyle.
Orientation in cultural theories related to lifestyle, understanding of the meaning of mediation in terms of the process of transmission, basic knowledge and orientation of cultural memory issues. Knowledge of basic concepts and theories related to this (classical period, avant-garde, post-avant-garde, neo-avant-garde, post-structuralism, new historicism, theory of power).
Prerequisites
1. No specific previous courses are required. 2. Knowledge of English, ability to work critically with texts, basic orientation in cultural theories and philosophy.

Assessment methods and criteria
unspecified
Essay (10 standard pages), seminar paper (attendance 75%), oral interview.
Recommended literature
  • Benjamin, W. Teoretické pasáže. Praha, 2011.
  • Blanco, M. del Pilar a E., Peeren. The spectralities reader: ghosts and haunting in contemporary cultural theory. New York, 2013.
  • De Botton, A. Architektura štěstí: tajné umění zařídit si život. Zlín, 2010.
  • Deleuze, G. a F. Guatari. Tisíc plošin.. Praha, 2010.
  • Fišerová, M. Obraz a moc. Karolinum, Praha, 2015.
  • Foucault, M. Slova a věci. Praha: Computer Press, 2007.
  • Latour, B. Stopovat a skládat světy s Brunem Latourem: výbor textů 1998-2013. Praha, 2016.
  • Marenko, B. a Brassett. Deleuze and design. Edinburgh, 2015.
  • Marin, L. a A. Cantillon. Politiques de la représentation. Paris, 2005.
  • MITCHEL, W. J. T. Landscape and Power. London, 2002.
  • SHUSTERMAN, Richard. Estetika pragmatizmu: Krása a umenie života. Kalligram, Bratislava, 2003.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester