Posted at Sep 03/2008 05:33PM:
chris w.: Dear All,
Here is a PDF of the syllabus as promised. I will also bring in plenty of extras on Friday.
Hope to see everyone then, Chris
13things.pdfMessage board archive: Sept 9-Nov 3
Posted at Nov 03/2008 02:51PM:
chris w.: Please choose from The time slots for project meetings.
Posted at Nov 08/2008 07:54AM:
chris w.: Do select one or both of the books from the portable radio readings: [link]
Posted at Nov 10/2008 12:34PM:
Dear all: readings for this week now on the Wiki... my bad they went up late. Enjoy! tpl
Posted at Nov 13/2008 04:44PM:
mark: Moved solar powered camel photo to The Wheel
Posted at Nov 13/2008 09:31PM:
mark: Moved sound image to The portable radio
Posted at Nov 14/2008 02:26PM:
sarah b.: Another player in the interesting network of longitudes:
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article5136819.ece
Dr. John A. = total genius.
Alexandra U.: The Rwandan genocide exemplifies the incredible amount of power the radio can have. The 'Mille Collines' radio station began calling for the extermination of 'cockroaches' (tutsis), basically giving instructions on which people to kill and how. While the radio was not the source of the conflict, its widespread availability, and the respect people seemed to attribute to the voices emanating from it, definitely was a catalyst for the war.
Now, the radio has undergone a revolution of sorts-- it promotes peace and reconciliation for the troubled country. One source interviewed in an article (this one-- http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/From-propaganda-to-peace ) makes the interesting point that it is easier to push war than advocate for peace.
But should the radio, as a whole, be used for either purposes? Does the fact that you do not see or know the person giving you 'instructions' make it easier to commit crimes? How was the radio strong enough to have such an effect? Does it tie in with Stern's idea that hearing 'places us within an event'?
Posted at Nov 18/2008 01:04AM:
sarah b.: I'm not even sure where to begin with the connections in the linked article. It touches on body/soul divide, things allowing us to peer into our past, the importance of the inscribed word etc.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/science/18soul.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc
Posted at Nov 19/2008 02:37PM:
chris w.: Just a reminder that Matthew J. will give a talk on Friday:
Matthew Johnson (University of Southampton)
The Fall and Rise of Empiricism in Archaeology
Friday, November 21, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Mencoff Hall (68 Waterman Street), 2nd Floor
Posted at Nov 30/2008 12:14PM:
chris w.: The timeslots for project presentations are up: [link]
Alexandra U.: I was discussing the camera obscura with my roommate, who is an photography class at RISD, and she told me about a fascinating photographer called Abelardo M.. He sets up camera obscuras in hotel rooms around the world, and suceeds in projecting the outside view into the room, and proceeds to photograph it. The result is incredible! In terms of our class discussion, it seems really interesting that he uses the camera obscura to actually create the photograph he will take. Here is the link to some of his photography.
http://www.abelardomorell.net/photography/recent_01/recent_01.html
Posted at Dec 03/2008 11:19PM:
ana e: I just found this article, and it reminded me of the personal computer discussion we were having today. It's called "Is Technology Rewiring Our Brains?" http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/03/kids-internet-tech.html
Alexandra U.: Sorry, I just realized it was 12:09. I was so engrossed in Voodoo I didn't see I was over the limit!
Posted at Dec 15/2008 10:36PM:
Jeffrey P.: I know I'm a little late for this, but I've just found a recent article and video on a recreation of the Antikythera mechanism previously mentioned in this class. I don't know if I speak for anyone else in this class, but I've found the idea of the Antikythera mechanism very intriguing for the four or so years I've know about it. [link]
