[-empyre-] Tactical Media - university research - knowledge production

[Timothy Murray]

Hey, everyone, thanks so much for such a 
fantastic month of discussion.   I have been very 
interested to see how the discussion has focused 
this past week on the place of research within 
the fields of arts and the humanities.   As the 
director of a humanities institute, I am 
constantly reminding my scientific colleagues of 
the central important of our research mission to 
that of the university.  But rather than apply 
our subject matter to the common good, our 
research mission frequently involves continued 
critical reflection on the very terms of the 
"common," "good," and research itself. 
Curiously,just before Simon Biggs made his post 
on Sunday, I spoke to him and others assembled 
for a workshop I sponsored  on "critical 
mobilities" at Cornell about the continued 
importance of Martin Heidegger's 1954 
denunciation  of university "research", in "Age 
of the World Picture," for its rapidly developing 
repetitions of funding models and scientific 
projects whose self-willed continuance is too 
divorced from critical reflection on its terms, 
its aim, and its ground in what Heidegger calls 
"erudition."  The current British  extension of 
this research machine in the UK, mentioned by 
Simon and Sarah, to necessitate justification of 
outcomes and social impact seems to be nothing 
less thatn the realization of Heidegger's worst 
fears.  

>While the University system seems to have had no 
>difficulty comprehending and justifying the 
>social good if its research of advanced military 
>weapons, dubious economic systems, and far 
>ranging surveillane practices, it so easily 
>calls to court practices in Tactical Media 
>(thinking of Nick Knouf's account of the 
>rejection of his research application, not to 
>mention Ricardo Dominguez's current situation). 
>Many thanks as well to Mark Bohlen and others 
>for prompting us to lend an equally critical eye 
>to our own practices, whether Tactical or 
>otherwise, which could be led by University 
>culture to blend into a kind of bland 
>complacency in which the terms and consequences 
>of our research practices might distance 
>themselves for continued critique and critical 
>reflection.

>We'll be announcing May's topic later today, 
>which will begin tomorrow.  It's a striking 
>coincidence that, while we evolve into the next 
>discussion, "Process as Paradigm," ( to be led 
>by guest moderators Susanne Jaschko and Lucas 
>Evers, in conjunction with their exhibition by 
>the same name at Laboral),  Ricardo Dominguez 
>will be continuing the process of his legal 
>"process," as he informs -empyre- today:

Hola all,

The 2nd "investigation" meeting will take place tomorrow Cinco de Mayo at
10am at the Visual Arts Chair's office - same place as last time. I do not
know how long the meeting will go - but the lead legal consul will be with
me and so will Chair Kester (as a silent witness).

What the support communities would can do - you can meet us in front of
Chair office at 10am or join Digital Marcha starting tonight and all day
tomorrow or both.

The Digital Marcha would be Sending a Short or Long E-mail of support of
b.a.n.g lab/EDT's projects starting tonight and all day tomorrow.

The E-mails would be SENT to ASVC Burke who is leading the "investigation"
into b.a.n.g lab/EDT's VR Sit-In performance of March 4th, 2010:

Stephanie Burke - shburke at ucsd.edu

Abrazos,
b.a.n.g lab/EDT and me


--
Ricardo Dominguez
Associate Professor
Hellman Fellow

"Another University is Possible"

Help restore democracy to California today: http://www.CAMajorityRule.com

Visual Arts Department, UCSD
http://visarts.ucsd.edu/
Principal Investigator, CALIT2
http://calit2.net
Co-Chair gallery at calit2
http://gallery.calit2.net
CRCA Researcher
http://crca.ucsd.edu/
Ethnic Studies Affiliate
http://www.ethnicstudies.ucsd.edu/
Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies Affiliate
http://cilas.ucsd.edu

Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics,
Board Member
http://hemi.nyu.edu

University of California, San Diego,
9500 Gilman Drive Drive,
La Jolla, CA 92093-0436
Phone: (619) 322-7571
e-mail: rrdominguez at ucsd.edu

Project sites:
site: http://bang.calit2.net
site: http://gallery.calit2.net
site: http://pitmm.net
blog:http://post.thing.net/blog/rdom
site: http://www.thing.net/~rdom


>I suppose this comment from Marc is exactly what 
>I was trying to get at by using myself as a case 
>study in my earlier post. I see my role as 
>engaged in redefining the edges of the research 
>I am undertaking, through my own practice. I am 
>aware that other students and researchers look 
>at the methods I've used, and the 'outcomes', to 
>structure their own investigations in the field. 
>That implies some kind of responsibility, which 
>I'd like to think all creative practitioners 
>within universities share. In the UK, our latest 
>Research Assessment Exercise (RAE: 
><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_Assessment_Exercise>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_Assessment_Exercise) 
>called on our work to be evaluated according to 
>Originality, Rigour, and Significance. All vague 
>and wishy-washy terms, but what's coming sounds 
>even harder to evaluate -- Impact: on society, 
>on economy, on policy, even on quality of life. 
>How big are the knots we are going to have to 
>tie ourselves into to claim that our art 
>projects have impact? This discussion list would 
>serve as evidence in the case of bang lab's 
>work. I'm going to have to befriend many more 
>journalists, and make my outcomes more 
>marketable. Urgh.
>I digress, but self-awareness of how artistic 
>production is valued within the university 
>research machine is indeed something to learn 
>and share our individual experiences of.
>As Beatriz wrote:
>"The "problem" that arises is that suddenly all 
>the work has to be presented as "research" and 
>once something is called "research" the outside 
>expectations as to what that is, what function 
>it should fulfill and within which boundaries it 
>should operate really change."
>So are there tactics for managing expectations?
>from a muggy morning in Ottawa,
>sarah
>
>
>
>
>
>On 2 May 2010, at 02:28, Marc Böhlen wrote:
>
>>I think the discussion is hitting terminology 
>>walls again. 'Knowledge production' can mean so 
>>much. And I would argue that the arts can (but 
>>don't have to) produce knowledge. There is 
>>ample evidence that artists have contributed to 
>>knowledge in interface design, for example. 
>>Also, 'production' does not mean exclusively 
>>'making', but also reflecting on, criticizing, 
>>contextualizing. 
>>
>>The advantage of casting art practices as a 
>>form of research is that the reason for being 
>>at a research university is self-evident.  The 
>>comparatively large amount of time one has for 
>>free experimentation is still without equal in 
>>industry. Also, it gives students more time to 
>>engage in their own work and to receive funding 
>>(to some degree at least). These are clear 
>>advantages that applied schools do not have.
>>
>>What lies ahead, I think, is the exploration of 
>>new venues of interfacing to the research 
>>university machinery
>>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>empyre forum
>empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
>http://www.subtle.net/empyre


-- 
Timothy Murray
Director, Society for the Humanities
Professor of Comparative Literature and English
Curator, Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art

A. D. White House
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York  14853
tele: 607-255-4086