Norman Klein – The New Picaresque: Excavating Narrative Forms After the End of Globalization, 1997-2050 Monday, February 8, 2016, at 6:00 pm to 7:50 pm

Kellen Auditorium, 66 Fifth Ave, room 101

Abstract: Globalism is a picaresque spinning us out of control, especially since 1997. We pause at the term picaresque; it is a vital clue to our dilemma. Outwardly, it refers to a unique mode of storytelling dating back to the sixteenth century. Many argue that it not only gave birth to the novel itself, it also inspired unique forms of theater, the visual arts, and architecture; even served as a precursor to noir fiction.

Key Thinkers in the Field: Shannon Mattern – Media Architectures & Archaeologies

Monday, November 9, 2015, at 6:00 pm to 7:50 pm

University Center, 63 Fifth Ave, lower level, room UL104

Abstract: Just how new are “new” and “emergent” media? Just how novel are our locative technologies, quantified selves, and sentient cities? This talk takes up these questions by both introducing students to “media archaeology” and its presence in various courses and initiatives throughout the university; and by tracing the archaeological through my own work.

Key Thinkers in the Field: Malcolm McCullough – Emergent Media Studies: Attention to Surroundings

Monday, November 2, 2015, at 6:00 pm to 7:50 pm

University Center, 63 Fifth Ave, lower level, room L104

Abstract: Designing and living in an age of information superabundance demands better attention practices. Cultivating a new sensibility to surroundings can help. This does not mean still one more thing to pay attention to, for attention is not always something to pay. Attention often flows without effort, without names, and without foreground focus. Situational awareness underlies much expertise. Casual fascination with environments restores other more deliberative capacities. Grounding in present context reduces over-consumption of other, emptier informational calories.

Key Thinkers in the Field: Sumita Chakravarty – Media, Multiplicity, Migration

Monday, October 26, 2015, at 6:00 pm to 7:50 pm

University Center, 63 Fifth Ave, lower level, room L104

Abstract: How do media deal with multiplicity, a phenomenon that is the hallmark of our era of globalization, transnationalism, and migration? What sense can we make of the representational strategies deployed to define these new realities? How might we construct a genealogy of multiple belongings? These are some of the questions I am exploring in my current research project which traces the historical intersections of migration and media.

Alumni Panel – The Intellectual Traditions of SMS: Susan Murray, Paula Gardner and Laurie Ouellette

Monday, October 19, 2015, at 6:00 pm to 7:50 pm

University Center, 63 Fifth Ave, lower level, room L104