Dave Young Graduation Project Proposal Final version 05.12.2012 2012: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:24, 9 October 2012

Tentative Title

Untitled (The Noun of Noun in the Noun of Adjective Noun)

General Introduction

My project explores how cybernetic systems have been used to mediate social discourse in order to maintain some sort of non-hierarchical democratic ideal. My main interest is in why and how these systems tend to fall apart, resulting in the emergence of a hierarchy within a group of people.

Relation to previous practice

In my past practice, I was examining the relationship between cybernetic theory and cold war computer technologies, and their resulting impact on popular culture. I was particularly interested in how computer technologies were represented in the science-fiction cinema, often as a propaganda device that illustrated the technological prowess of the United States over the rest of the world. Last year I had also investigated how cybernetic theory was reappropriated by the counterculture, removing it from its military/corporate background and using it to create non-hierarchical social systems within the communes in the early 1970s. My current interest is a development of these ideas: firstly, that cybernetics had a large social impact through its representation in cinema and print media during the Cold War, and also to explore the reasons it might be used to influence the behaviour of a group of people.

Relation to a larger context

Practical steps

Currently, my practical steps involve two experiments. The first is a workshop where a group of people are challenged to build a city in the game Micropolis.

References

A list of references (Remember that dictionaries, encyclopedias and wikipedia are not references to be listed. These are starting points which should lead to more substantial texts and practices.) As with your previous essays, the references need to be formatted according to the Harvard method.) See: http://pzwart3.wdka.hro.nl/wiki/A_Guide_to_Essay_Writing#The_Harvard_System_of_referencing

Feel free to include any visual material to substantiate, illustrate or elucidate your proposal. For example use images to reference your work or that of others.

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 == Relation to previous practice ==
+In my past practice, I was examining the relationship between cybernetic theory and cold war computer technologies, and their resulting impact on popular culture. I was particularly interested in how computer technologies were represented in the science-fiction cinema, often as a propaganda device that illustrated the technological prowess of the United States over the rest of the world. Last year I had also investigated how cybernetic theory was reappropriated by the counterculture, removing it from its military/corporate background and using it to create non-hierarchical social systems within the communes in the early 1970s. My current interest is a development of these ideas: firstly, that cybernetics had a large social impact through its representation in cinema and print media during the Cold War, and also to explore the reasons it might be used to influence the behaviour of a group of people.
 == Relation to a larger context ==
-Meaning practices or ideas that go beyond the scope of your personal work.  Write briefly about other projects or theoretical material which share an affinity with your project.  For example, if you are researching urban interventions, you might talk about Situationist approaches to psychogeography, urban tactical media and activist strategies of reclaiming the streets.  Or, if you want to explore the way data is tracked, you might touch upon the politics of data mining by referencing concerns laid out by the Electronic Frontier or highlight theoretical questions raised by Wendy Chun or others.  (Keep in mind that we are *not* expecting well formulated conclusions or persuasive arguments in the proposal phase.  At this juncture, it's simply about showing an awareness of a broader context, which you will later build upon as your research progresses.)
 == Practical steps ==
-Describe how you will go about conducting your research through reading, writing and practice.  In other words, through a combination of these approaches, you will explore questions or interests you have laid out in your general introduction.  In this section you can help us understand how your project will come together on a practical level and talk about possible outcome(s).  Of course, the outcome(s) may change as your research evolves, but it's important to have some idea of how your project might come together as a whole.
+Currently, my practical steps involve two experiments. The first is a workshop where a group of people are challenged to build a city in the game Micropolis.
 == References ==