DREXEL
UNIVERSITY
Fall
term 2013
Neighborhood NarrativesGlobal Classroom: Istanbul Collaboration
3 credits
T
12:30 – 15:20
Instructor:
Hana Iverson, Visiting Professor, CoMAD + CoAS, Drexel University
Guest
Instructor: Dr. Eugenia Ellis, Associate
Professor of Architecture, CoMAD + Civil, Architectural and Environmental
Engineering, Drexel University
Istanbul:
Dr. Mine Ozkar, Professor, Department of Architecture, Istanbul Technical
University
Neighborhood Narratives is an
out-of-the-classroom locative media course that uses alternative technologies
such as easy-to-use mobile Augmented Reality, basic mobile recording devices,
on-line open-source tools such as blogging, folksonomies and Google Maps along
with analog resources such as sketch maps to produce context rich stories that
portray aspects of a neighborhood. It explores the real and metaphorical
potentialities of mapping, walking, and way-finding as methods of developing
attachments, connecting, and constructing narratives in a virtual and spatial
locale. Using GPS, cell phones, audio and
visual recording, the Neighborhood Narratives projects engage the physical and
economic infrastructure of local cultures, facilitating global comparisons and
growing appreciation of the multiple ways in which local processes are
intricately tied to regional, national and global forces and events. With Professor
Mine Ozkar at Istanbul Technical University, this class will create an
international project using locative technologies to reconceptualize streets
and sidewalks as green public spaces.
No prior
technological experience is necessary.
Led by Visiting
Professor Hana Iverson, Managing Director of the Center for Creative Research
(http://centerforcreativeresearch.org/), this class has received the Global
Classroom award.
Learning Outcomes
·
Gain an
introduction to theories and practices of design for urban environments, green
public space and art in the public sphere that integrates mobile media with community
engagement
·
Examine spatial
issues of green public space as it relates both to Philadelphia and Istanbul
·
Reflect on a
series of creative artistic community-based collaborations
·
Present
work-in-progress and final products for peer review and revision
Format
The class is 3 hours long once a week. The class will
introduce methods of collecting data and artifacts, internet and field
observation along with the examination of project presentations with rigorous
discussion. Mobile city-wide exploration (public transportation, on foot) will
include the presentation of the final project on location in the city. The
class will also engage in peer dialogue and interdisciplinary teamwork, to
extend the breadth of a project through collaboration. Participants in the
class are responsible for communication with their international project
student team members in Istanbul, initiating Skype, email, Facetime and/or
other means of communication in order to complete an international team
project. Students will keep semester long blogs including observations, photos,
video and audio recordings (where equipment and resources allow) - a personal
diary of the Neighborhood Narrative experience.
Students
are expected to complete readings and project assignments before each class. Attendance
is greatly valued as the course relies
heavily on students’ open and intense participation in class.
The role of
faculty in this course is to 1) facilitate the learning process of individuals
and the group; 2) serve as a subject matter expert when needed; and 3) to
assist you in developing your final project presentations and other writing
assignments.
Grading and Course Requirements
Attendance Requirements: (35% of grade)
Research, attendance
and participation at all class sessions
Participation
in and completion of international assignment
REQUIRED
Mid-term and Final presentations
Attending
the sessions outlined in the schedule is a requirement of this course.
More than
two unexcused absences will decrease the overall grade by one unit for each
additional missed class. Four absences will result in a failing grade for the
course. If you are going to be absent,
please inform the instructors by email at least 24 hours in advance. If you are
absent, it is your responsibility to make up any work in a timely fashion.
Graded coursework: (65% of grade in total)
1.
In-class
assignments (30%)
2.
Due Dec. 3: International
project completed in collaboration with students in Istanbul (25%)
Course Instructor Contact Information – Office Hours by Appointment:
Hana
Iverson, Office: 241 URBN, email: hbi23@drexel.edu
Gena Ellis,
Office: 134 URBN, email: genaellis@drexel.edu
Disability Statement:
Student with
disabilities requesting accommodations and services at Drexel University need
to present a current accommodation verification letter (AVL) to faculty before
accommodations can be made. AVL’s are issued by the Office of Disability
Resources (ODR). For additional information, contact ODR at www.drexel.edu/ods, 3201 Arch St., Street, Suite 210,
Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215.895.1401
(V), or 215.895.2299 (TTY).
Student’s Responsibilities:
Academic
Honesty and Integrity:
Drexel
University is committed to a learning environment that embraces honesty.
Faculty, students, and administrators share responsibility for maintaining this
environment of academic honesty and integrity, accepting responsibility for all
actions, personal and academic. Each member of our community is expected to
read, understand, and uphold the values identified and described for academic
integrity. It is the student’s responsibility to maintain acceptable
academic practices. Please refer to the Student Handbook at: http://drexel.edu/studentaffairs/community_standards/studentHandbook/
An
explanation of what constitutes academic dishonesty can be found on the
Provost’s website at:
An
explanation of the sanctions given for academic dishonesty can be found in your
Student Handbook and on the website of the Office of Conduct and Community
Standards at
Drop/Add/Withdrawal
Policy:
Once you are
registered in this course, it is your responsibility to attend the course, drop
the course, or withdraw from the course. Dropping and withdrawing are distinct
actions that affect your course enrollment status. In either case, a form from
the Registrar’s Office, with signatures, is required to change course
enrollment status. There are billing, financial aid, and academic record
affects for changes to your enrollment status in this course; therefore, you
must attend to the proper procedure when dropping or withdrawing from a course.
Please refer to the University’s drop/add/withdrawal policies and timelines on
the Registrar’s website or contact your academic advisor.
Financial
Obligations:
Students who
do not satisfy financial obligations to the University and have been placed on
financial hold are not entitled to a grade by the instructor.
The
student acknowledges receipt of this syllabus and the information herein
contained by continuing to attend this course. The instructors reserve the
right to make changes to this syllabus if circumstances warrant such change.
All major changes will be provided to the students in writing.
Course Schedule and Outline
Week 1: Sept. 24
Hana: Introduction
to the course:
· What is a neighborhood, what is narrative in
the context of this class
· Description of the global collaboration for
the class.
· Presentation of the Mechanics of Place project as inspiration for the assignment
· Present Shadows from Another Place by Paula
Levine http://shadowsfromanotherplace.net/
to show an example of how
two cities can be layered onto each other virtually.
In class
assignment: Creating an internationally networked class via Blogs. Class blog and students blogs created and
linked.
Gena: Introduction
to the history of Philadelphia city planning and green public space (and share this presentation with the
Istanbul class).
Project
Assignment: Pick a green public space in
Philadelphia and photograph the spatial rhythm of the city, thinking about the
relationship between green and non-green spaces. Think about pattern and form. Create a selection of three images, grouped
as one, and bring to class next week.
Week 2: Oct. 1 -
Walking in the City, Rhythms and Patterns
Review
of photography assignment, considering rhythm (spatial relations, repetition,
similarity, difference, variance, patterns)
Create a
collective class blog portrait, using our photos, of a rhythm of Philadelphia,
green and non-green for Istanbul class
Introduction
to Green Public Space in Istanbul –presentation
from Mine
Discussion
of International Assignment:
Students
will be teamed with students in Istanbul class.
Email addresses of each team will be given out to students in Istanbul
and Philadelphia. The term-long project
includes charting a route through the partner city… and designing hypothetical
green public interventions along that route. You can define these ideas with
photographs and/or drawings or sound and load them into an Augmented Reality
platform that will be tagged to the route.
No technical skills required! We
will be using a simple upload platform.
Reading Assignment Due:
Michel de
Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life.
Spatial Practices, Chapter VII: Walking in the City. University of California
Press, 1984.
Kevin Lynch,
The Image of the City. Chapter III: The City and its Elements. MIT press, 1960
Week 3: Oct. 15 – Physical and Augmented
Public Space / Sounding the City
The
relationship between physical and virtual space. How green space can be hybrid
space
Presentation
about perception
and public space.
Augmented Reality – how-to
Zooburst and Junaio tutorial; tech specs for sound capture, photo, video;
what is image recognition technology and how is it embedded in virtural
environments (games, VR, AR etc)
Media
requirements for international project defined
Look at
photos from Istanbul class and review reading from Istanbul readings.
Reading Assignment Due:
Amy Mills, Streets of Memory:
Landscape, Tolerance and National Identity in Istanbul. Chapter I: The Turkish Nation in the Urban
Landscape: Cultural Geographies of a Nationalizing City. The University of Georgia Press, 2010.
Green 2015
reading
Assignment: Test in
Augmented Reality platform
Week 4: Oct. 22 – What is public space?
Review AR
assignment
Discuss
different notions of public sphere and ownership and regulation. Hannah Arendt reading in class – small
discussion groups.
Review
uprising of Taksim Gezi park in Istanbul.
Review government attitudes towards public space in Philadelphia.
Reading Assignment Due:
Creating Democracy: A Dialogue with Kryzstof Wodiczko. Art Journal, Vol. 62, No. 4.
Amy Mills, Streets of Memory:
Landscape, Tolerance and National Identity in Istanbul. Chapter 3: Garden Street: Narratives of
Contested Place
Week 5: Oct. 29 – Route, wayfinding and
mapping
Discussion
of the route for international projects, how to map these routes
Landscape
art and Locative Media. Richard Long, Robert
Smithson, Teri Rueb and EcoArtTech, , Rebecca Solnit: Infinite City
Discussion
of Map design for this project
Reading Assignment Due:
Mobile
Interface Theory
Mapping and Representations of Space
Greenworks Executive Summary + Rooftops to Rivers
MID-TERM PROJECT: Assignment
to visit, experience, research a Philadelphia green project
Week 6: Nov. 5 – Presentations
of Mid-term Projects + Rituals in Green Public Space
Either a
6-page written report or creative work researching, describing and responding
to the green project in Philadelphia that you visited during the previous week.
Presentation
about Rituals in Green Public Space
Week 7: Nov. 12 – Designing green
Map designs due
Review of
Map designs
Different
approaches to spatial design considering both physical and virtual space
Assignment: Designing for Istanbul/Philadelphia, Map
design assignment
Reading Assignment Due:
Phillips
Rejuvenate Cities
Shawn
Micallef, Stroll: Pyschogeographic
Walking Tours of Toronto. Chapter: Rouge Park. Coach House Books, 2010.
Week 8: Nov. 19
Review of
first design efforts; Review of Istanbul
class design. Final map design decided
and tasks assigned
Week 9:
Nov. 26
Putting all
the media together in the Augmented Reality platform
Week 10: Dec. 3
Final
Presentations and critique: AR + map
Istanbul/Philadelphia Green Public Space
