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“To me, the computer is just another tool. It’s like a pen. You have to have a pen, and to know penmanship, but neither will write the book for you.”
– Red Burns
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“All I do as an artist is make guesses. First guesses at ideas that may work. Then I identify where a guess doesn’t work and fix it. And guess again. Talent may only be the ability to guess. And guess again. Really fast.”
– Nell Benjamin
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“Take an object / Do something to it / Do something else to it. [Repeat.]”
– Jasper Johns
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Summer 2022 IMALR-GT 501 Thesis (3 Credits)
Class Time: Mondays & Thursdays
Section 1: 10:00am-12:30pm ET
Section 2: 10:00am–12:30pm ET
Section 3: 10:00am-12:30pm CT (Tuesdays & Fridays)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]
Advisors:
Allison Parrish | aparrish@nyu.edu | Office Hours
Sharleen Smith | ses4@nyu.edu | Office Hours
Stavros Didakis | sd163@nyu.edu | Office Hours[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]
Residents:
YG Zhang | yuguang.zhang@nyu.edu | Office Hours
Enrique García Alcalá | ega270@nyu.edu | Office Hours
Yiru Lu | yl7429@nyu.edu | Office Hours[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]
Course Description
This course is designed to help students conceptualize, define and develop a version of their final thesis project. A series of practical assignments, readings and structured activities complemented by presentations and synchronous feedback sessions will facilitate the development of individual projects. The course will also provide space for technical skill building necessary to realize the project.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Spring:
In the Spring semester, students will work towards crystalizing and contextualizing their idea, developing a project plan, building a presentation that communicates both their project effectively and their journey to get there, and constructing a shareable project prototype to play-test and iterate upon.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Summer:
During the summer session students will complete their Thesis project, deliver a final presentation, and reflect on how their work relates to their professional life and goals moving beyond the program. Completion of the Thesis in the summer will entail delivery of a final user-tested version of the project, formal documentation of the entire process, and a polished public presentation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Learning Objectives
- Develop a strong, creative concept that demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of interactive media and represents a thoughtful project that merits work for an extended period of time
- Produce a detailed project plan that includes evidence of research, expression of intentions, and an outline of necessary steps
- Gain experience in artistic prototyping and iteration leading to a larger project deliverable
- Develop ability to express and advance ideas via research, presentation and documentation
- Deliver a usable prototype that has the capacity to be shared and tested
- Develop capacity to provide and receive constructive feedback and support
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Teaching and Learning Methodology
The Thesis course has been designed to provide you with both support and independence. It is an opportunity for you to work on a project of your own choosing for an extended period of time that leverages both the program material covered thus far as well as material you wish to explore in greater depth. Class time has been structured to ensure you are making progress on your work and that you have the necessary direction to continually advance both your intentions as well as the feasibility of your project work. A shared Thesis Journal will be used to post weekly assignments and updates. By the end of the course, it is expected that each of you will have designed and produced your own individual thesis project with the intention to share it with others in an appropriate form.
The Thesis course is also very much a communal experience that aims to reinforce a community of support and constructive critique. Each of you is expected to be actively engaged in understanding each other’s work, contributing helpful feedback, and offering appropriate criticism. You will be expected to read and comment on the work of those in your section via the shared Thesis Journal. Note, while you will be working on your own thesis project and the work should be your own, you are welcome to connect and research together. Sharing of resources, forming support groups, and play-testing each other’s work are all highly encouraged. In other words, support one another. We are all in this together![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Milestones | Spring
- Sunday, February 27th – Thesis Proposal Draft Due by 11:59 PM ET
- Sunday, March 13th – Thesis Proposal Final Due by 11:59 PM ET
- Wednesday, March 30th – Spring Midterm Presentations
- Wednesday April 20th – “Show-A-Thing Feedback Sessions” event
- Wednesday, May 4th – Final Spring Project Demos
- Monday, May 16th & Tuesday, May 17th – Spring Showcase (Optional)
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- Thursday, May 26th – Successful Thesis Milestones (KPIs) check-in
- Sunday, June 12th – Draft Thesis Archive Materials Submitted to the Database Due by 11:59 PM ET
- Monday, June 13th & Thursday, June 16th – Thesis presentation rehearsals
- Friday, June 17th – Thesis Archive Website Edits Due by 11:59 PM ET
- Tuesday, June 21st – Final projects check-in & technical rehearsals
- Wednesday, June 22nd & Thursday, June 23rd – Final Thesis Presentations & Thesis Show
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Grading
This class is Pass/Fail. A Pass is equivalent to achieving a score above a US Standards 70% (i.e. a C-). If you are at risk of not passing, the instructor will inform you beforehand to ensure you have proper time to address any issues or concerns. You will be assessed according to the following breakdown:[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Spring
- Attendance 10%
- Participation 15%
- Weekly Assignments 25%
- Spring Midterm Proposal & Presentation 20%
- Final Project & Demo 30%
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- Attendance 10%
- Participation 10%
- Final Project 40%
- Final Documentation 15%
- Final Presentation 25%
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Attendance
- Students are expected to attend ALL classes.
- Be on time – for class, for assignments, for meetings. Habitual lateness will not be tolerated.
- If you know you are going to be late or absent due to illness or other circumstances, please do your best to contact the instructor in advance or shortly thereafter. If an emergency occurs, please let the instructor or a staff member know as soon as possible.
- Unexcused absences or habitual lateness will negatively impact your ability to pass the class.
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Participation
- Sustained participation that demonstrates thoughtful engagement with the course materials is a requirement for succeeding.
- Active participation helps us, the instructors, get to know you as an individual and keep track of your progress. It also provides you and your classmates greater opportunities to learn from one another.
- Ways to Participate During Class
- Be present, attentive, and mindful.
- Contribute to class discussions by raising questions, supporting/challenging points of interest, offering feedback to other student’s ideas, making connections to examples and material across the program, and sharing relevant personal experiences and perspectives.
- Share your own progress and assignment work. Explaining what you are doing to other people is one of the best ways to better understand the material and answer questions for yourself. It also provides your classmates with the opportunity to learn from you.
- Provide constructive feedback to other student’s project work and presentations
- Ways to Participate Outside of Class
- Post comments/responses to classmates blog posts.
- Volunteer to be a user-tester for other student’s project
- Provide constructive feedback to other student’s project work and presentations
- Thoroughly document your work on your own blog so that other students can understand your process and intentions
If you have any concerns pertaining to the course and expectations around participation, please do your best to communicate with the instructors, a staff member or a University administrator. And if you would like extra help or require additional instruction, please let the instructors know.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Statement of Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work as though it were your own. More specifically, plagiarism is to present as your own: A sequence of words quoted without quotation marks from another writer or a paraphrased passage from another writer’s work or facts, ideas or images composed by someone else. When in doubt, cite your source!
Statement of Principle
The core of the educational experience at the Tisch School of the Arts is the creation of original academic and artistic work by students for the critical review of faculty members. It is therefore of the utmost importance that students at all times provide their instructors with an accurate sense of their current abilities and knowledge in order to receive appropriate constructive criticism and advice. Any attempt to evade that essential, transparent transaction between instructor and student through plagiarism or cheating is educationally self-defeating and a grave violation of Tisch School of the Arts community standards. For all the details on plagiarism, please refer to page 10 of the Tisch School of the Arts, Policies and Procedures Handbook, which can be found online at: https://tisch.nyu.edu/student-affairs/important-resources/tisch-policies-and-handbooks.
Statement on Accessibility
Please feel free to make suggestions to your instructor about ways in which this class could become more accessible to you. Academic accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Please contact the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212 998-4980 for further information.
Statement on Counseling and Wellness
Your health and safety are a priority at NYU. If you experience any health or mental health issues during this course, we encourage you to utilize the support services of the 24/7 NYU Wellness Exchange 212-443-9999. Also, all students who may require an academic accommodation due to a qualified disability, physical or mental, please register with the Moses Center 212-998-4980. Please let your instructor know if you need help connecting to these resources.
Statement on Title IX
Tisch School of the Arts is dedicated to providing its students with a learning environment that is rigorous, respectful, supportive and nurturing so that they can engage in the free exchange of ideas and commit themselves fully to the study of their discipline. To that end Tisch is committed to enforcing University policies prohibiting all forms of sexual misconduct as well as discrimination on the basis of sex and gender. Detailed information regarding these policies and the resources that are available to students through the Title IX office can be found by using the following link: Title IX at NYU.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]