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TEACHING Courses taught: Graduate | Undergraduate | TA Teaching Philosophy I believe that one of the qualities of a professor is to know how to establish a close relationship to students, identifying the strongest points in each individual, and to know how to guide them according to their personal vocation, instead of imposing pre-established formats. This attitude contributes to promote a relationship of mutual trust between teacher and students, which is so important to the learning process and to the development of communicational, and creative ideas, as well as inquiry-based learning. When structuring an undergraduate course, as much as possible I plan to alternate lecture and discussion classes, reserving some time for student presentations. I also believe it is important to foster students’ self expression and participation in class, in order to create a unite group. I believe group work, in the form of supervised class discussions and class presentations are powerful ways of fostering collaboration and critical thinking skills. Another critical step in a course structure is the implementation of a website that works as a central reference guide, where students can look at the course description, structure, calendar, readings, and assignments. Another teaching project that has proven to be very successful is the class weblog, written before each class by the students with their summary of readings and personal commentaries. It is a very effective feedback on students understanding of the course readings and a way for each student to become aware of their peers ideas. With the opportunity to show and share their ideas publicly, students feel more closely related to the course, shifting from a passive audience to active participants in the class. In addition to the weblog, and the website, I frequently use audio-visual materials (e.g. videos) and Internet, as ways of exemplifying class topics. When structuring a graduate course, I consider it is essential to expose students to a variety of themes, as well as to different points of view of the same topic, promoting class discussion, in order to form critical professional and researchers, who are able to search for information and to develop new theories, instead of only waiting for already “processed” knowledge. To accomplish this goal, classes are generally structured as seminars, in which all students have responsibility to produce text critiques and engage in discussion in class. Besides the blog, the website and videos, I also use a wiki as a collective sources database, and a way of gathering research sources for future paper and research projects. Because my current research deals with social consequences of mobile technologies, I am especially interested in developing courses that analyze how communication interactions in urban spaces are transformed by the use of mobile interfaces and the mobile Internet. Another topic of interest is the inter-relation between communication interfaces and modes of human communication.
CRD701::History and Theory of Communication Technology Historical and theoretical perspectives on technological change and its social implications provide a foundation for intensive study and critical analysis of new communication technologies. A grasp of the social, political and economic contexts in which technologies emerge allows the student to discern the way culture both shapes and is shaped by information and communication technologies. Course topics are thus chosen to broadly acquaint students with key historical moments in the history of technology. They provide a framework in which early theorizations of media and technology are studied to enrich current understanding of the Internet, mobile and wireless technologies as new media. The course also provides grounding in a range of theorizations to give the student a broad overview of the multiplicity of approaches and methods that can aid investigations of technological change in social contexts. These include concepts such as mobility, hybridity of spaces, interfaces, database, information and materiality. This graduate seminar explores new media as agents of change in cultural, social, and spatial infrastructures. By remembering that every media was once new, and that we need new theory to conceptualize new media, students will investigate how the emergence of new interfaces change communication relationships, information dissemination, reading practices, and consequently the way we think about the world and ourselves. Having in mind that each media reflects old media, but also brings up the new, one must learn how to critically think about each new medium by taking into consideration its specific characteristics. In the first part of the course, we will study from a philosophical and historical perspective some main concepts necessary to understand new media, such as mobility, space, interface and information. A global understanding of these concepts will help us to theorize new media in the contemporary society. The second part of the course is dedicated to exploring old forms of media as new media, such as the printing press, 19th century technologies, and mass media. We will look at how every media causes and reflects social, spatial, and cultural shifts. Lastly, we will address current and emerging forms of new media, such as the web, electronic texts, gaming, and mobile technologies.
COM537::Gaming & Social Networks This graduate seminar explores the inter-relations among mobile technologies (cell phones, PDAs), location-based activities, and playful/social spaces. It investigates how multiuser games/environments can be brought into physical spaces, thus transforming our perception of urban public spaces. By creating social networks in public spaces, these games also change communication patterns among players, as well as the very concept of the cell phone. The course explores three main areas with the ultimate goal of finding interconnections between gaming and social networks. The first part is dedicated to the definition of basic multiuser gaming concepts. We will define games as social, spatial and (non)narrative activities. Then, we will explore the history of games as social environments, with particular emphasis on role-playing games (RPGs) and multi-user domains (MUDs), as predecessor of hybrid reality/location-based gaming. In the final section we will investigate the concept of mobile gaming, exploring and defining different types of games which use the physical space as the game environment, such as pervasive games, location-based games, and hybrid reality games. Along the course, we will discuss possibilities for these games to be used beyond pure entertainment, drawing connections among gaming, education, art, and other location-based activities. The overarching goal of this class is two-fold. First, it will help students to draw connections between games and the creation of social networks via the analysis of games as social and spatial activities. Second, students will apply these concepts to the definition of mobile and location aware gaming. Broadly, the course focuses on identifying how mobile, location aware and wireless interfaces influence communication and society, changing perceptions of urban spaces.
COM547::Mobile Technologies and Social Practices This course explores the emergence of mobile communication technologies and its influence on communication patterns and social behavior. It conceptualizes cell phones beyond mobile telephones (two-way voice communication devices). Rather, it defines the mobile interface as a micro-computer, a remote control and a game device. The lecture class focuses on the history, current uses and future perspectives for the social use of mobile interfaces. How do mobile interfaces change our perception of both digital and physical spaces? Do they allow the creation of new types of communities? How do the uses of mobile images (still and video) influence the way we communicate and deal with information spaces? How does the use of mobile technology differ in distinct parts of the world, like Asia, Scandinavia, North and South America? The course engages students on discovering new sociability patterns created by mobile interfaces.
Tecnologias Móveis e Sociedade Contemporânea Este curso de curta duração explora a emergência das tecnologias móveis de comunicação e sua influência em padrões de comunicação e comportamento social. O objetivo é conceitualizar os telefones celulares como mais do que meros telefones móveis (aparelhos de comunicação bilateral), definindo a interface móvel como um micro-computador, um controle remote e um console de jogos. O foco será na história, usos e perspectivas futuras para o uso social de interfaces móveis. Como interfaces móveis transformam nossa percepção de espaços físicos e digitais? Como elas fomentam a criação de novos tipos de comunidades? Como o uso das tecnologias móveis difere em distintas partes do mundo, como Ásia, Escandinávia, América do Norte e do Sul?
COM427::Games Cultures Games are pervasive activities in the contemporary culture and are starting to be seriously studied as an emerging academic field. Games are intrinsically social activities, and therefore very relevant to understand contemporary communication, society, and culture. Although the first computer games were mostly single-player activities, the Internet allowed the connection among millions of users in virtual environments that simulate the traditional Role Playing Games (RPGs) online. Multiuser domains (MUDs) and massively multiuser online roleplaying games (MMORPGs) are actually complex social environments, and laboratories for social negotiations. With the popularity of cell phones, these games are being brought into physical spaces, transforming the whole city into the game board. This course explores the inter-relations among mobile technologies (cell phones, PDAs), location-based activities, and playful/social spaces. It investigates three main areas with the ultimate goal of finding interconnections between games and culture. The first part of the course is dedicated to the definition of basic gaming concepts. We will define games as social, spatial, playful, and (non)narrative activities. Then, we will explore the history of games as social environments, with particular emphasis on MUDs, as predecessors of hybrid reality/location-based gaming. In the final section we will look into mobile gaming, exploring and defining different types of games which use the physical space as the game environment, such as pervasive games, location-based games, and hybrid reality games. Along the course, we will discuss possibilities for these games to be used beyond pure entertainment, drawing connections among gaming, education, art, and other location-based activities. The overarching goal of this class is two-fold. First, it will help students to draw connections between games and the creation of social networks via the analysis of games as social and spatial activities. Second, students will apply these concepts to the definition of mobile and location aware gaming. Broadly, the course focuses on identifying how mobile, location aware and wireless interfaces influence communication and society, changing perceptions of urban spaces.
COM447::Mobile Technologies and Cultures This course explores the emergence of mobile communication technologies and its influence on communication patterns and social behavior. It conceptualizes cell phones beyond mobile telephones (two-way voice communication devices). Rather, it defines the mobile interface as a micro-computer, a remote control and a game device. The lecture class focuses on the history, current uses and future perspectives for the social use of mobile interfaces. How do mobile interfaces change our perception of both digital and physical spaces? Do they allow the creation of new types of communities? How do the uses of mobile images (still and video) influence the way we communicate and deal with information spaces? How does the use of mobile technology differ in distinct parts of the world, like Asia, Scandinavia, North and South America? The course engages students on discovering new sociability patterns created by mobile interfaces.
COM487::Internet and Society The primary goal of this class is to investigate interconnections between the Internet and society focusing on the interfaces that allow us to connect to digital spaces. The course will be divided into three main parts. Part I includes a historical overview of the development of the Internet. We will explore how the personal computer, as an assemblage of material interfaces (such as the mouse, the keyboard, the screen, and the operational system), shaped not only how we interact with, but also how we understand the Internet. We will investigate how the concept of cyberspace contributed to the visualization of the computer and the Internet as social spaces, leading to the development of MUDs and virtual worlds. In this part, we will draw on literary and science fiction views of the Internet andcyberspace. Part II focuses on the Internet today. We will address how blogs, wikis, and social networking sites contribute to the development of what is called web 2.0. We will also explore how the Internet is becoming more integrated into our everyday life via locaiton-based services, mobile social networks and ubiquitous computing, focusing on some of the social implicaitons of these developments, such as privacy and surveillance issues. Finally, we will discuss social access to the Internet, which concerns ideas about the digital divide both in the United States and in developing countries. The ultimate goal of this class is to raise a discussion about the role of the Internet in contemporary society.
COM327::Critical Analysis of Communication Media This course critically analyzes new media as agents of change in cultural, social, and spatial infrastructures. By remembering that every media was once new, COM327 explores how the emergence of new interfaces change communication relationships, information dissemination, reading practices, and consequently the way we think about the world and ourselves. Within this context, this course focuses on expanding the meaning of traditional communication media, taking it beyond mass media, such as TV, radio, and even the fixed Internet, and re-thinking new media as mobile technologies, gaming, design, and media art. In order to accomplish this goal, it is critical to re-think old types of media as new media, as well as to create new concepts and new theories for new media. Having in mind that each media change carries old media meanings, but also creates new communication patterns, one must re-learn how to critically think about each new medium by taking into consideration its specific characteristics. In summary, this course’s goals are to:
In the first part of the course, we will study from a philosophical and historical perspective some main concepts necessary to understand new media, such as interface, information, virtual, and hypertext. A global understanding of these concepts will help us think how different information supports and material interfaces change modes of reading and social thought. The second part of the course is dedicated to exploring old forms of media as new media, with the goal to understand how specific media changes cause social, spatial, and cultural shifts. Lastly, we will look into current and emerging forms and practices of new media, bearing in mind that new types of interfaces also change our concept of communication media. How can we consider mobile technologies, gaming, and new media art as new media practices?
COM257::Media History and Theory This course explores new media as agents of change in cultural, social, and spatial infrastructures. By remembering that every media was once new, and that we need new theory to conceptualize new media, students will investigate how the emergence of new interfaces change communication relationships, information dissemination, reading practices, and consequently the way we think about the world and ourselves. Having in mind that each media reflects old media, but also brings up the new, one must learn how to critically think about each new medium by taking into consideration its specific characteristics. In the first part of the course, we will study some main concepts necessary to understand new media, such as mobility, space, interface and information. A global understanding of these concepts will help us to theorize new media in the contemporary society. The second part of the course is dedicated to exploring old forms of media as new media, such as the printing press, 19th century technologies, and mass media. We will look at how every media causes and reflects social, spatial, and cultural shifts. Lastly, we will address current and emerging forms of new media, such as the web, electronic texts, gaming, and mobile technologies.
Graphic Visual Communication In this course, I taught the history of graphic design as an interface. The course encompassed, in a linear perspective, the history of alphabets, the invention of the printing press, the development of typography, the modern art movements, and the analyses of the Bauhaus, the Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm, De Stijl, and the Swiss International Style. I emphasized how shifts on the material interfaces (e.g. letter, papyrus, paper, and screen) transform our relationship to information and to the content to be transmitted. The lecture classes have been intercalated with typographic analyses in printed products, and the evaluation of the use of colors and forms in projects developed by students in classroom. The course finished with the study of today’s most prominent communication graphic interfaces, such as books, magazines and websites. For the final project, groups of students developed a complete layout for one of the previously mentioned media. The work has been presented and discussed in class.
Graphic Visual Communication (in collaboration with Rogerio Camara). Description: Graphic Design and Communication: technical, aesthetics, and cultural aspects. Processes of visual form. Typography. Design and new technologies.
DMA 159 Senior Project This class focused on helping Design students to create professional web and print portfolios. In addition to developing a personal style for the presentation, there were weekly assignments for creating content such as posters and announcements for the various events in the department and campus. Besides the practical projects, students attended lectures from designers about their works, visited a printing press and learned how to program in HTML. Besides being responsible for the students’ orientation and work critique, some lectures and grading, I also produced the course website.
DMA 189 Design | Media Arts in Times of War This was a special Topics in Design seminar, which was named after the recent 9/11 events. The goal was to give students a broad overview of the various social, political and economic issues confronting designers and media artists today. The course foregrounded the historical background surrounding the recent facts and how people in the arts and industry commented or participated actively on them. One day a week was spent in lecture and discussion and the second working on weekly projects. With this structure, the central theme remained, but students needed to produce content for different media. In the first weeks, they were involved in the design of a postcard, as well as black and white and color posters. All projects needed to be both printed and uploaded online. In the following week, students produced a 30-second audio track. Next, they used this piece as a soundtrack for a video clip. The final project required the creation of a website to display the pieces produced along the course. Besides being responsible for the students’ orientation and work critique, some lectures and grading, I also produced the course website.
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