In this class we will explore the possibility of
developing wearable devices & accessories as means to social
experimentation and agents of expressivity and communication. As
the class traces the relationship between the body, fashion, technology
and social interaction students will be asked to actively explore
this trajectory and develop ideas and devices around them. What
would an electronic gesture be like? How can technology & fashion
allow people to dynamically express themselves? What is a subversive
technology? Weekly assignments will frame the theoretical discourse
while a final project will help students synthesize theoretical
considerations and design practices in the wearable computing spaces.
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Week 1
Jan. 18 |
Introduction– what
the class will be about. Why discuss wearable computing at all? What
does wearable computing mean today? What are the fundamental and essential
components for something to qualify as “wearable technology”?
How is technology aligned with personal expression? Present the approach
the class will take.
Assignment: Create 2 masks for next class: one that
you think represents you and one that “hides” you.
Readings: "Fashion" by G.Simmel &
"Clothing: The Portable Environment", by S.Watkins (pp.
xv-xviii") |
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Week 2
Jan. 25 |
Identity- What is the relationship
between clothing and the “self” : or how this relationship
is exposed by our relationship to clothing – memory, practicality,
sex?, communication – what do high-heels represent? an old sweater?
the Sari? Talk about armors, insignia, labels. Clothing as protection
etc. Clothes – why do we wear clothes? How does the “evolution”
of clothes relate to social changes? What are the politics of dressing?
Assignment: Make an item of clothing using the following
materials: wool, cotton, leather, an electronic component, conductive
fabric or thread.
Readings: "E-broidery: Design and fabrication
of textile-based computing by E. R. Post, M. Orth, P. R. Russo, and
N. Gershenfeld" and "A Construction kit for Electronic Textiles"
by Leah Buechley |
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Week 3
Feb. 1 |
Politics of Dress / Subversive
Technologies- Relationship of “dress & politics”,
“technology and politics. Subversive technologies –
present Digital Peacocks and similarly “subversive”
projects and technologies. What does it mean to subvert technology
and through technology? Providing people with alternative channels
of expression can itself be subversive? Topsy turvy.
Assignment: High level idea for final project.
One page write-up of idea + references
Reading: “Reflectionism” and “Diffusionism”:
New Tactics for Deconstructing the Video Surveillance Superhighway
by Steve Mann
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Week 4
Feb.8 |
Preliminary Project Presentation
Assignment: Hack/transform an inexpensive existing
electronic device (a Canal street toy?) into a wearable device.
Reading: "Clothing: The Portable Environment",
by S.Watkins pp. 334-355 (The Design Process) |
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Week 5
Feb. 15 |
Evolution / Brief history of Wearable
Technologies - Is technology the next phase in the “evolution”
of clothing? If not, why? If yes, how? What does this mean for our
image of self and social interactions? Examine technologies in clothes
and their ramifications. A brief exposition and critique of how technology
has been used so far.
Assignment: Create a wearable device that deals with
our senses.
Reading: Some Simple Reflections on the Body
by Paul Valery |
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Week 6
Feb. 22 |
Sensors / Adaptation- Sensors
one by one / from sleeve to cuff – start looking at technologies
with wearables in mind. How to efficiently use intrinsic limitations
or attributes of certain technologies. Problem solving, using what
is there and adapting both existing technologies and wearable conventions
Assignment: Work on soft switches & c ircuits |
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Week 7
March 1 |
Solutions workshop –
how do you thread with wire? What needle to use to that end? What
is the best adhesive for fabric / LEDs? Foam, vinyl, leather or plastic?
Reading:The Fingerprint of the Second Skin by Kitty Hauser |
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Week 8
March 8 |
Personal Expression / Magic-
How do you enable people to express themselves
dynamically through their clothes and accessories while using technological
components? What constitutes personal expression? Technology as ready
to hand (Heidegger in Being and Time) – Technology as magic,
technology as revealing (the “penny drops” moment).
Assignment: prepare your presentation for next week-
from design board to story boards |
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Week 9
March 22 |
Presentations Round I |
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Week 10
March 29 |
Presentations Round II |
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Week 11
April 05 |
Gestures - Discussion of
gestures. Gestures and communication, evolution of gestures. Where
do we stand today? Do we have “electronic” gestures? Think
of the Duchene smile, semiology, trends etc.
Assignment: social experiment assignment |
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Week 12
April 12 |
Social Interaction / Proxemics-
Discussion on social interaction. Observing and amplifying. Gestures,
faciality. What does technology do to us? What do we do to technology?
How can we use technology to conduct social experiments and how can
we use social interaction to provide an alternate meaning and use
to technology? |
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Week 13
April 19 |
Final Presentations |
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| Week 14
April 26 |
Final Presentations |
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