Course Syllabus

Course Information

ATEC 6331.001: Aesthetics of Interactive Arts

Tuesday 4.00-6.45 pm, Conference Room

Professor Contact Information

Dr. Mihai Nadin

ATEC Building, Office 1.618
(972) 883-2832
nadin@utdallas.edu
Office Hours: by appointment

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

This is a required graduate class. If an undergraduate student wishes to take it, ATEC approval is
required.

Course Description

Aesthetics is present in everything we do. It is the underlying ―logic of senses,‖ and as such it is
expressed in the ways in which we perceive the world. It also guides in the making of new
aesthetic entities (in particular interactive arts, a very fast expanding field of aesthetic relevance).

Students in this class will practice aesthetics as it relates to their educational focus. The outcome
of this class is expressed in:

a) Knowledge of aesthetics as it shaped, and continues to shape, human activity

b) Aesthetic skills expressed in aesthetic value judgments and aesthetic innovation in the
age of interactive media and computational design

c.) Aesthetic competence corresponding to the fast dynamics of digital expression

The class will engage students in reading and reporting on foundational texts, in particular,
informational aesthetics. Students will also explore the aesthetics of innovation and aesthetic
experiment. Guest lecturers will cover the ―hot‖ topics of current developments (interactivity,
immersion, virtuality, etc.). New media is of particular interest to our explorations. You, the
students in the class, are asked to practice aesthetics. Students are encouraged to post class-work
on the website conceived for this class. Given the many choices open to students in ATEC, the
class will also serve as an open forum for defining the students’ focus in the program.

Course Syllabus Page 1

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

The outcome of this graduate class can be compared to the outcome of a class in mathematics for
future scientists and engineers. Indeed, they will not become mathematicians, but should
be able to apply the powerful means of mathematics to the problems they will solve as
scientists or engineers. Mathematics is foundational for them; aesthetics is foundational
for you, whether you will work in emerging media, games, design, digital arts.
In our class, aesthetics is seen as the ―mathematics‖ of art and design. More precisely, it provides
a foundation for understanding the characteristics of interactive arts, for experimenting,
for advancing innovation. For being creative. Concretely, students will explore:
a) Knowledge of aesthetics, as it shaped, and it continues to shape, human activity in
general, and in particular the emerging interactive forms of aesthetic expression
b) Aesthetic skills, expressed in aesthetic value judgments and aesthetic innovation in the
age of interactive media and computational design.
c) Aesthetic judgment as an expression of aesthetic knowledge-based evaluation.

Required Textbooks and Materials

Mihai Nadin, The Civilization of Illiteracy, Book IV, Chapter 1 (Language and the
Visual), Chapter 8 (Art(ifacts) and Aesthetic Processes), Chapter 10 (The Sense of
Design), and Book V, Chapter 1 (The Interactive Future: Individual, Community and
Society in the Age of the Web). Additionally: The chapters ―Language and the Visual‖
(pp. 321-352); ―Science and Philosophy‖ (especially pp. 511-524); ―The Sense of
Design‖ (pp. 590-611); and ―A Sense of the Future‖ (pp. 729-767) will be discussed in
class. This book is available in its entirety on several Websites. A limited number of
copies will be available at the University Bookstore, at a discounted price for students.
The UTD library owns also the book.

Mihai Nadin, Anticipation—The End Is Where We Start From. Basel: Muller Verlag,
2003. It will be made available in the University Bookstore at a discounted price for
students. The UTD library owns the book.

Mercedes Vilanova and Frederic Chorda, A Mind at Work, Synchron Publishers, 2003,
pp. 7-32 and 167-197. The book is available in the UTD library.

Mihai Nadin, Science and Beauty: Aesthetic structuring of Knowledge, Leonardo, 24/1,
1991. The article will be made available to students.

Mihai Nadin, Emergent Aesthetics. Aesthetic Issues in Computer Arts., Leonardo,

Special Issue: Computer Art in context, August 1989. The article will be made available
to students.

Malcolm Gladwell, The formula. What if you built a machine to predict hit movies? In
The New Yorker, 10/16, 2006. The article will be made available to students. It is also
posted on the website of The New Yorker.

Gaut, Berys Nigel and Lopes, Dominic, The Routledge companion to aesthetics
[electronic resource], NetLibrary, 2005. Available as eBook at the McDermott Library of
UTD.

computer art. To be provided online or print-out.

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Suggested Course Materials

Storage (regardless of the procedure): Maintain a digital library of examples (painting,

sculpture, music, literature, computer art, interactive works, etc.) to be shared in
class. Strictly adhere to academic and intellectual property procedures when
quoting a work or when presenting it as an example. Do not present the same work
in two different classes.

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Week 1, Tuesday, August 24th:

Aggregate class profile – a short anonymous test
Introduction to Aesthetics
Assignment 1: Read Art(ifacts) and Aesthetic Processes in The Civilization of
Illiteracy (pp. 534-571, Book IV, chapter 8). Write a 1-page synthesis on ―What I
understood from what I read?‖ To this one page add 5 examples that illustrate the
ideas in this chapter.
Assignment due: Tuesday, August 31st

Assignment 2: Join Scratch-- http://scratch.mit.edu/

Using Scratch, create within the next 4 weeks (by September 21st) an aesthetic
artifact that best exemplifies your focus (game, interactive application,
animation, music, story, art, etc.). Once you post it on Scratch (read all
instructions carefully!), inform the class of the address where we can all retrieve
it. You will present your Scratch project in class—5 minute limit for your
presentation.

Scratch is a simple programming language that makes it easy to create your own
interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations
on the Web. It is for young people (children, but also young adults). As young
people create and share Scratch projects, they learn mathematical and
computational ideas, while also being stimulated to think creatively, reason
systematically, and work collaboratively.

When people think about learning and education, they often think about one
person transmitting information to another, or to a class. Increasingly, educators
are recognizing that the one-to-many model, also known as ―transmission
approach‖ doesn’t work very well. This idea is presented in The Civilization of
Illiteracy. Research has confirmed that we learn best not when we are passively
receiving information, but when we are actively engaged in exploring,
experimenting, and expressing ourselves (sometimes known as the 3 Xs). More
and more schools are focusing on learning-by-doing, engaging students in hands-
on activities. In this class, we want to go a step further. Our goal is to practice a
new form of learning: students learn to design, create, and invent things with
aesthetics as their foundation. It’s not just learning-by-doing; it’s learning-by-
designing with aesthetic awareness.
Course Syllabus Page 3
 Assignment due: Tuesday, September 21st

Week 2, Tuesday, August 31st:

Music and art aesthetics. Is there such a thing as perfect taste in music?
The question can be asked also in respect to poetry, theater, film, dance, games,
etc. How do we define taste? Read:
http://www.skytopia.com/project/rating.html#11
Assignment 3: Choose your own area of aesthetic competence. Document good
taste vs. bad taste through 5 examples.
To document means:
1. Select examples;
2. Provide a contrasting presentation;
3. Explain in your own words why some artifacts qualify as an expression of
good taste, and others of bad taste.
Assignment due: Tuesday, September 14th

Week 3, Tuesday, September 7th: Aesthetics of art—the 21st Century

In preparation for this class, visit the Nasher Sculpture Center.
Choose one work, and document your aesthetic criteria (why you chose it?).
Each student will show in class his or her choice and will explain selection
criteria in the class discussion.

Week 4, Tuesday, September 14th: The aesthetics of slicing and splicing.

Read The Civilization of Illiteracy (pp. 193-199, in particular the Sampling
section). The class will focus on
http://thru-you.com/
This is an online music video project mixed from samples of YouTube videos.
Time magazine called it one of the 50 best inventions of 2009.
Students will discuss in class the various aspects of originality in a context of
reciprocal influence and new understandings of intellectual property.

After viewing ThruYOU, open source advocate Lawrence Lessig praised the
project as a pioneer of a new, less regulated form of media, saying:
"If you come to the Net armed with the idea that the old system of copyright is
going to work just fine here, this more than anything is going to get you to
recognize: you need some new ideas…‖
.

Week 5, Tuesday, September 21st:

Aesthetics in the age of computation
Class presentation of Second Assignment. Each student has 5 minutes.

We begin developing the story. Check out the following sites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSt1KPLPM4Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmyE534nN7A

These are YouTube assignments on the subject of anticipation and inspiration;

anticipation and creativity. Watch them in order to get an idea of the purpose of

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 our new video. Yes, we will work together to prepare a video that will define
your YouTube assignment for the semester.
Assignment 4: Read ―Language and the Visual‖ in The Civilization of Illiteracy,
pp. 321-345 (Book IV, Chapter 1). Write a 1-page synthesis on: ―What did you
understand from what you read?‖ To this 1 page add 5 examples that illustrate
the ideas in this chapter.
Assignment due: October 12th

Week 6, Tuesday, September 28th:

Anticipation and aesthetics.
To create means to make possible something that did not exist before. This is
called originality. The larger class assignment for this semester is Anticipation
and Originality.
The class will discuss the foundations for understanding originality as the
most important aesthetic characteristic of your future activity. Each student
will work on a creative video to document the various aspects of originality. In
this class we shall define the various tasks you will have to undertake in
producing your final project:
- Directin
- Producing
- Camera
- Video-editing
- Music
- Scriptwriting
- Animation
- Graphic design

Assignment 5: Script and production plan for your video. Read Nadin,
Anticipation – The end is where we start from.
Deadline for Assignment 5: October 26th. Each student meets with the professor
on an individual basis (Schedule to accommodate individual time limitations)
Deadline for finished video: November 30th. Last class. No extensions.

Week 7, Tuesday, October 5th:

Is aesthetics deterministic?
Assignment 6: Can you imagine a machine that will generate aesthetic artifacts?
Based upon the purpose you define for your aesthetic machine, prepare a
presentation to the class of how such a machine would work and what kind of
artifacts it would eventually produce. You can use digital means (such as
modeling, software, animation, interactive diagrams). Or you can use traditional
means (clay, wood, or paper models). The project and your current competence
dictate the medium you will use. However, you will have to justify your choice
of medium and explain how the machine you conceived works.
Within 4 weeks (by November 2nd), ―make‖ an aesthetic machine: a program, a
device, or an illustration. Show the input variables, the machine state, the output.
Make a professional presentation of your machine.
Presentation in class: November 2nd
Reading: Malcolm Gladwell, ―The formula. What if you built a machine to
predict hit movies?‖ In The New Yorker, 10/16, 2006.
Continue work on the script and prepare production of the video.
.

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Week 8, Tuesday, October 12th:
Aesthetics of games, virtual reality, visualization.
Class presentation of video.
Assignment 4 due!

Week 9, Tuesday, October 19th:

How do we evaluate the aesthetics of interactive arts?

Week 10, Tuesday, October 26th:

Class presentation of scripts/storyline for your video on anticipation and
originality. Open forum on questions of interest to the class pertinent to the
aesthetics of interactive arts.

For next class: submit to

http://acquine.alipr.com/

4 different images. This is an online system that rates images by aesthetic

quality.
In parallel have your images rated by your colleagues, family members, friends.
Present your findings in the next class. Each student has 7 minutes for the
presentation.

Week 11, Tuesday, November 2nd:

1. Present your findings regarding the rating of images
a) Define the subject—how do they do it? What is the intention? How good are
they?
a) Define the difference between the performance of the website and that of
living subjects
b) Define criteria for evaluation (NB: criteria is plural; make sure you have
more than one criterion).
2. Present your aesthetic machine.

Week 12, Tuesday, November 9th:

Information aesthetics
Assignment 7: Read ―Science and Beauty‖ in Mind at Work, pp. 177-188. Write
a 1-page summary of the ideas. Present your own examples of how the ideas
from the text would have to be formulated in OUR days.
Assignment due: November 16th.

Week 13, Tuesday, November 16th:

Aesthetics in context.
Assignment 8: Examples characteristic of the aesthetics of your own region or
country of origin. How does the aesthetics of our environment shape our
perception?
Present assignment in class of November 23rd.

Week 14, Tuesday, November 23rd:

Your aesthetic context—assignment presentation. What do we learn from the
aesthetics of other cultures?

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Week 15, Tuesday, November 30th:
Class presentation of Anticipation and Originality video. By this day, your
videos have to be posted on YouTube!

Evaluate your own project.

Grading Policy

During the Semester, reading, independent research, acquisition of software skills and class
participation – in the form of short presentations and discussions – will be evaluated. The final
project, supposed to be the expression of your semester-long research and independent work –
will make up 50% of your grade. The remaining 50% will be accumulated through class
attendance, class participation, and weekly assignments. The following is a breakdown of the
grades:
Attendance 10%
Class Participation 25%
Individual Assignments 30%

Final Project & Presentation 35%

Course & Instructor Policies

All work must be presented in on time to the class. Class attendance is very important. Make
sure you are on time and ready to learn!

Field Trip Policies

Some assignments require that you visit some Dallas locations on your own Please take such
visits seriously since they will serve as a basis for your work.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations
for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and
each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern
student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained
in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic
year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of
recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and
Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and
in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of Operating
Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the
Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

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 A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship.
He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules,
university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the
standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or
criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because
the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the
student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual
honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to
applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or
material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the
following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other
source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see
general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the
web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between
faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues
concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university
encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email
address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a
UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the
identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD
furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with
university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method
for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses.
These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures
must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any
class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork
to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the
class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities,
of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments
of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to
resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the
grievance originates (hereafter called ―the respondent‖). Individual faculty members retain
primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at

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 that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the
respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the
respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not
resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of
Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic
Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic
appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at
the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade
must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the
required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the
specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities
equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the
Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments
necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary
to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for
students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example,
a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes
enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities.
The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or
mobility assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members
to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special
accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for
the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are
exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding
the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to
take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period
equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the

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 instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A
student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a
failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of
observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has
been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the
student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or
his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative
intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief
executive officer or designee.

Off-Campus Instruction and Course Activities

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and
University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information
regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website address given below.
Additional information is available from the office of the school dean.
(http://www.utdallas.edu/Business Affairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm)

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change as the class requires.

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