[-empyre-] April on -empyre-: "Tactical Media, Research, and the University"

[Timothy Murray]

>
>April 2010 on -empyre- soft-skinned space

>  "Tactical Media, Research, and the University"
>
>Moderated by Renate Ferro (US) and Tim Murray 
>(US) with Arthur Kroker (Canada), Geert Lovink 
>(Netherlands),  Horit Herman Peled (Israel), 
>Nick Knouf (US), Patricia Zimmermann 
>(US/Singapore), Marc Böhlen (US), Claudia Costa 
>Pederson (US), Rita Raley (US),  Sarah Cook (UK) 
>, Kevin Hamilton (US), Yiannis Colakides 
>(Cyprus), Nick DiSalvo (US)
>
>
>http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>
>What is the relation of  "tactical media" to 
>strategies of "research" and how can we 
>understand the frequent and paradoxical reliance 
>of tactical media on University settings for 
>much of its technical and critical research.
>
>The impetus for this discussion is the ongoing 
>investigation of one of -empyre-'s thoughtful 
>and consistent guests, Ricardo Dominguez, who is 
>an Assoc. Prof. of Art at the University of 
>California, San Diego.  Domingues and the 
>students in his lab are being questioned by 
>authorities about the virtual sit-in undertaken 
>by Elecronic Disturbance Theater (EDT) on the 
>day of national protest against cuts at the 
>University of California, and EDT's highly 
>publicized development of the Transborder 
>Immigrant Tool.
>
>Our guests  will describe the importance of 
>their own and Ricardo's work, while dwelling on 
>the potentially significant role of the research 
>university in fostering a creative and nurturing 
>environment for open and humane research in new 
>media arts.  How might we appreciate the 
>importance of tactical media and its place in 
>the University research environment that 
>traditionally has been the comfortable home for 
>extensive research in the technologicies of 
>warfare, biological and nuclear agents, and 
>sweeping software and hardware projects in the 
>service of governmantal and corporate 
>surveillance and scanning.

-- 
>>Renate Ferro and Tim Murray
>>Managing Co-Moderators, -empyre- a soft-skinned-space
>>Department of Art/ Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art
Cornell University
e-mail: empyre at cornell.edu