Remix Practices

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This lab-based seminar explores the “remix” as both an analytic framework and a method of critical practice. Remixes can be found in music, text, images, education, games, art, technology, fashion, and wherever something intended for a particular meaning or use is redeployed and reinterpreted within a new set of constraints. Digital technologies have catapulted remixes to a new level of visibility. But the remixing of culture precedes these technologies. This course begins with a theoretical opening discussion in which remix theory is unpacked, unmixed, and re-assessed as a semiotic process accelerated by new media technologies. We will also touch upon a variety of cultural issues raised, inspired, and/or challenged by the remix. Throughout the course, we will apply remix practices that uncover novel connections and new meanings across sources. Hands-on experiments explore the remix across a spectrum of media forms: text, sound, image, video, and simple interactive animations. By the end of the course, you will have practice applying the remix as both an analytic paradigm and a technical method. You will remix your own work and the work of others throughout the course, and your final project will be a research remix. This course emphasizes the development, use, and critical evaluation of digital communications media. It includes instruction in the design and development of digital communications and the study of human interaction with digital media, as well as emerging trends and issues in the computational and digital landscape.