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The theory and practice of media

A Ph.D. program combining theory with practice

The new Media Arts and Practice degree was inspired by recent developments in media and technology that have altered the landscape of media production, analysis, distribution, and display. USC hopes to support a new generation of scholar-practitioners or practitioner-scholars who can combine theoretical knowledge with creative and critical design skills. Students completing a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Practice at USC will be well prepared to participate in the evolving world of global media.

Interdisciplinary, student-directed studies

Media Arts and Practice offers students the opportunity to substantially design their own course of study. The core iMAP curriculum consists of three foundational courses in design, practice, and theory, plus a professionalization seminar devoted to exploring emerging movements in media technology, theory, and practice. Students pursue their own specialization by drawing on the courses, faculty, and facilities across the School of Cinematic Arts (Production, Critical Studies, Writing, Interactive Media, and Animation and Digital Arts). "iMAP is designed to be a cross-divisional Ph.D., drawing on the faculty and resources of all the divisions, training iMAP students to be scholar-practitioners or practitioner-scholars,” says Critical Studies Division Chair Anne Friedberg.

Program Director Steve Anderson

The program is under the direction of Assistant Professor Steve Anderson, Ph.D., who previously designed and directed the Institute for Multimedia Literacy’s undergraduate Honors in Multimedia Scholarship program. "Digital media has come so far in the last few years in allowing a different kind of scholarship to happen," says Anderson. "I’m hoping there'll be a knitting together of the divisions that hasn't been seen, and our students will create a really interesting cross-pollination of design skills, critical thinking, and creative production."

Design, Technology, Theory Colloquium Series — online sessions for all

Anderson will host an online colloquium series in collaboration with Adobe that iMAP students and other interested persons can attend online. The first session, scheduled for 9 a.m. PT on November 19, 2007, will feature a panel discussion addressing questions of convergence in what it takes to do interesting work as a designer, theorist, or technologist in today's world.

Online panel discussion — the theory

Erik Loyer, an alumnus of new media pioneers Inscape and The Voyager Company who founded the Information Architecture division of web pioneer Razorfish in Los Angeles, will be one of the panelists. His design studio, Song New Creative, builds interactive media experiences for cultural institutions, corporations, and artists. He will be joined by Peter Lunenfeld, professor in the Media Design Program at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and Dmitri Siegel, web art director for Urban Outfitters. He is also creative director of Ante, an annual publication devoted to emerging artists and writers, and Anathema, a magazine devoted to the pursuit of impossible ideas. The three will debate and discuss, along with audience participants, whether the tools and technologies of interactive design support or resist the desire for convergence and synergy among technologists, designers, and scholars.

Online workshop — the practical

The panel discussion will be followed by a workshop, Development for the Flash Platform, led by Erik Loyer, from 1 to 5 p.m. PT December 3, 2007. He looks at Flash® as a platform rather than a set of tools for shaping how users experience content on the Internet. This workshop will focus on programming in ActionScript 3.0 and MXML and at the basics of working in Adobe Flash and Flex™ (and how you decide when to use either one).

An invitation to participate

USC’s Media Arts and Practice program invites faculty and students in institutions throughout North America to join the discussion and the workshops. Anderson comments, "We are living in an age of convergence, not just at the level of media and technology but in the everyday practice of designers, scholars, and programmers. It is no longer sufficient for people who think critically about emerging technologies simply to observe them from a distance. By far the most interesting theories of new media are those with immediate relevance to the work of designers and media makers. Likewise, the most interesting media design and production work emerges from an informed relationship to theory and history." Visit this page next month for further information and registration details.