Jacky's paper proposal

Final Paper

Thinking back to all the class reading, discussions, and looking back to my old notes. It got me thinking about my life, how work and play, play apart in my life. I started  analyzing the idea of labor-time/ leisure, then going in to the idea’s of trade, game, or creative practice where the boundaries between work and play is particularly blurry. Expectly after the 1960, where some people would like to say we have entered a post industrial world. In the industrial time life was much more simpler, the I idea of labor-time/ leisure, task-time/ idleness, work and play. Was more black and white then what it is today, the today’s person who really try to do it all and so much is expected out of use today. With this in mind I would like to write about the blurry lines between everything that we have read. Comparing everything I have learned this semester to my crazy life. I am a full time student, most of my classes are in San Francisco which makes my commute on bart a hour and a half from Castro Valley, where I work on homework. On time of that I work over 20 hours each and every week in Castro Valley as a server, which makes my hours very late. So almost everyday I wake up at 7 out my door by 7:30 on bart by 7:55 start class at 9 get out at 3 then rushing back to CV working at 4:30    -10 then finally back home at 10:30, only to start homework. I don’t have leisure, I cant even remember what that feels like, my idleness is what keeps me sane.

Sophie's paper proposal

As a maker/ artist and an art student I find there are many ways in my life where work and play interact and overlap. Art is one of the things I enjoy most in life, both making and observing it. Being a student within the realm of art I am severly blurring the lines of play and work in my life, making my work life and my play life have a complex and strange relationship.

As a student I take many different kinds of classes which are all part of a curriculum. By fullfilling these requirements I can obtain a degree. Within these classes there are assignements and dealines. All of the words in itallic make the work I do for a school a f labor time, there is value for which I am working towards. However being a creative student I need to work with ideas and concepts which are inspired from many different places such as, radical boredom and meaningless work. The ways in which I need to work are related to task time, making something till it is done. Being a make makes me constantly question, observe and investigate work for fun or work for value.

I would like to write my final paper on the blurry line between what is work and play for a Mover. This will be presented through the personal point of view of my friend who works as a mover at a company Hartford Dispatch. He's mentioned the idea of loading a truck to the game of Tetris. At the point of reaching their destination, the movers must scan the area to figure out what is heavier and should go in the truck first. From there, they all work as a team to wrap and fit the rest of the pieces inside the truck as compactly as possible.

Since forms of play should proceed in the attitude and mood of play, the play aspect of a moving job is driven solely in the mover’s mind. It could be said that he looks at his work as task time when he’s having fun and as labor time when he’s solely doing his job to make money.

The pace of his play is set according to the size of the place he’s moving materials out of and the amount of materials he has to move. The more time it takes to complete a job, the more points ($) he earns. I say points and not spending money, because he puts his salary into his savings. He saves all his money, only to spend it on necessities (groceries, home and his dog… He rarely buys clothes and makes use of what he already has till it wears out) Having been a mover for seven years now, he will take money out of his savings to go on vacation now and then.

The idea of moving people in and out of homes as the end result is interesting to me. He mentioned to me once that he’s moved a family into a house that he'd previously moved one out of that same week. In that aspect his work could seem meaningless and reflect the game aspect of the real estate market in pre-2006 America. During this period houses were bought, remodeled, and sold for a profit in a matter of months. The movers make profit off people’s whim to move in and out of spaces, by transporting their material goods. A lot of the times customers let movers take what they wish to discard and this is how my friend has gotten all of his furniture.

Through the pattern of my friend’s lifestyle, I noted that not only his work, but his activity at home is predominantly extensive. He chooses to do housework on days he does not have to go to work. This leads me to believe that he looks at his whole day’s activity as tasks (even when he is doing labor work, it is simply task time.) When there is noting laborious to exert his energy on, he likes to do thousand piece puzzles, word and number puzzles, and play scrabble. He also plays DVDs of movies and T.V shows he likes when he idles. If he watches T.V. it is predominantly in the background while he winds down to go to bed and thus, his intake is chiefly extensive.

In my essay I would like to incorporate the theory of task and labor time, as well as of implosive and extensive work to outline his mundane life of play.

Ki Smith paper proposal

The Direction of Play

As we continue to evolve and move into a new technological and “implosive”
age it is interesting to see what play’s roll has become and were it is headed. Since
the beginning of time both humans and animals have had an instilled urge to play.
Whether it is two puppies wrestling or a group of kids playing tag, it is obvious to
see that we are bore with a desire and need to play. Originally playing usually meant
some sort of physical activity with or against a friend, however as we have evolved
so has are idea of play. Just as humans have evolved tools for work they have also
come up with tools for play. It is also important to notice that as our play tools have
evolved so have the rules of play. We have slowly come to a strange place in play
where we are dominantly using implosive system such as play-stations or x-boxes.
The heavy usage of these types of implosive games begs the question of weather or
not these games are fulfilling our “game quota” or weather merely putting more idle
time into our days.

My paper will be exploring these questions and hoping to seek a conclusive
point on the direction of play.

Emily Carrasco paper proposal

Much like art education and the creative practices where the boundaries from work to play collide, professional athletes face this type of conflict as well. Here these people begin their practices of playing football or basketball as little children where it’s all about running around, making friends and paying somewhat attention to the ball until this athletic interest gradually becomes more of a competition on so many different levels. Play time is considering the beginning of the interest in becoming a professional, like how it all started, what was it about the game that linked this small child to it. Then there is the very intriguing fact of how as the child grows and matures into different pressures that come with age, so does this profession or “game”. For example, body type is one pressure that is important to athletes, how fast they are, how strong, their endurance, etc. Also, how in shape they are (in general). If they don’t maintain their health, this can and will affect their profession. Also, much like art: while the child is growing up, they must maintain a clear interest in this profession throughout all of their years (including how we mold mentally and physically) in order to make sense in continuing on and into schooling for a degree (or in this case, getting drafted?-need more research-) If you want to get a college degree in art, it is a very slim chance of making it a comfortable environment and living comfortably for yourself once out of school, the same goes for athletics. Becoming a professional athlete is something that isn’t very common unless you have the right amount of talent, the right amount of money, or the right amount of connections- similar to the art world. We are the underdogs in a sense, but we chose to be. (Patching this up because it’s getting rather lengthy) In terms of work, I am looking at how once the athlete is acknowledged and even drafted onto a somewhat well-known team, although he is experiencing everything that he has prepared for, and trained for (body injuries and all), he will be facing the difficulties of its work. Its Work is to be the best, to make the touchdowns, to make the free throws, no exceptions, no excuses, no injuries. The athlete must fly from one state to another one after the other (without the consideration of families and time and health), show up for practice, listen to the coach and his play sheets, win games, carry the team, etc. What was fun for the athlete (or even artist) is now overbearing right? What was fun (shooting hoops with dad) is now work (playing against other professional athletes in an arena with thousands of fans who scream at you when you miss one basket). Even though a lot of artists are stereotyped for lacking any athletic talent, we really have a lot in common with them especially with how our lives will be structured and possibly how we may feel about it.
-Emily Carrasco

Final Paper - Courtney

For my final paper I want to analyze the job of Party Catalysts. Some of you may have heard the episode of This American Life called Plan B, in which the first act is called "It's Another Tequila Sunrise". The following 19 minutes are spent telling the story of Cuervo Man - who was hired by Jose Cuervo to go to bars and basically just have a good time, get drunk and get people to drink tequila. I was interested in this because when most people go out to a bar it is to relax once we are "off the clock" or done with our tasks for the day/week. Partying and drinking is a leisure activity which is done in our off time, but what if it was your job specifically to party? Work and play are completely intertwined in this position. The drunker you get, the happier your bosses are and the more they want you to work.

Kevin Kuo Final Paper Idea

Today too many jobs consists of the realms of work and play. They are not necessary tendencies toward one or the other, but sometimes by no means considered to be both. I would here propose my topic regarding these professional players in our daily lives. These people play sports and game like every other normal people do except they get paid for playing. The definition of their "Play Time" becomes extremely blurry, however I would further demonstrate the concept in my paper with research. I will also mention Thomson's task time and leisure in relation to professional players as well as Marcel Duchamp's work avoidance essay.

I would clearly state that the difference between a real work and play is money. Money divides these two subjects into half.

Professional players are trained to play in certain professions. Their works seem to be fun and enjoyable to some people, but they are actually not as easy as people might think. A job can be enjoyable if someone accepts and likes it.

Artists like us are extremely similar to professional players because we do what we enjoy. Here I would mention Marcel's work avoidance into context. It's a very different kind of subject, yet how he translate his leisure into a type of work. In addition to Marcel, Dandy will also be discussed.

Emily Cunningham proposal for Final

For the final I wanted to focus on the game Second Life. I thought that it was interesting how involved one could get in the game, and how much time and energy can be spent on it. The game is an online computer game where you can create an avatar, a character in the game, and let it interact with other Avatars in the game. In order to buy clothes or a house in the game, you must find a way to make money. The game is structured so that you could actually get a job and get paid in the game’s currency, linden. This is one of the main examples of the game crossing the line into becoming work. A job in Second Life is similar to one in real life in that your character must put in a certain number of hours of work to earn money. Some examples of jobs on the game are becoming a hostess for a club, becoming a DJ, a prostitute, or a dancer (most likely exotic). The jobs are either task based or time based, which is why I wanted to use the E.P. Thompson essay “Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism” to help describe them. I also thought it would be helpful to refer to Aspen Aar Seth’s essay “Allegories of Space: The Question of Spatiality in Computer Games”, because I would like to discuss how this game evolved off of other computer games.

Fin al paper proposal Venus

For my final paper I would like to analyze this limbo state we are in as student.

What are the types of student, how are they face with boredom, what come form this state? Are there any benefits if and so are there any differences between the types of students. And what role does student have on the work world.

Danny I hope I’m going in the right direction with this because I have a lot to say on this

Final Paper Proposal - Sofia G.

I propose to write about the occupation of yoga instruction as an example of where work and play merge in the professional realm, and the Western assumptions about lifestyle differences between the East and the West. I will draw mostly from the ‘Boredom’ text (for some reason the first page didn’t print so I don’t have the title or author; Danny, could you re-e-mail that to me and I’ll try to print in the right format?), and Huizinga’s essay. (It is interesting that Huizinga taught as an ‘Orientalist’ and wrote his doctoral thesis on the jester in Indian drama.) I understand that the “legitimate boredom” is different from what might be called ‘inner peace,’ but I want to draw parallels between the discussed kind of boredom and the state of consciousness one might seek in a yoga class. What role does the yoga teacher play for one who is trying to attain something like ‘void’? Does the yoga instructor benefit from the practice as much as the students? I will delineate between yoga instruction and Huizinga’s terms of play, and of work. I am interested in the gentrification (is that the right term?) of Eastern practices (from 3^rd World countries) amongst the upper class in the West.

Final Paper - Eva Chidester

For my final paper I want to analyze how Fast Food chains, specifically McDonald's, have changed the way the general public view eating in relation to play and work, time and space. I have identified a variety of elements present within the fast food system that function to make the experience more playful (eg. "fun" bright colors, monopoly games on cups, "happy meals" which include a toy- relating the purchase of food to be less about nutrition and more about playing, in-restaurant play centers- conveniently located mere meters from the cash registers... etc etc).

Fast food is also connected to a western idea, that time= $$. "Drive thu" windows enable the working class to eat as quickly and as cheaply as possible, saving valuable time that would be spent waiting in line or parking their cars- and get back to their work day.

For those who appreciate the ease and "fun" of a McDonald's burger, preparation and cooking time calls for much more from the consumer. The slow food movement requires 10x more time, space, and work.. as well as money. The cook must then make more money to buy the necessary ingredients. McDonald's success hinges on the connection between their food and play, as well as instant gratification and budget-friendly meals. McDonald's has also advertised free WI-FI... work and play can be accomplished simultaneously.

I want to discuss clock time and task time in relation to the drive thru, how efficiency is connected to time=money, clock time. I also want to discuss how the restaurants encourage a sense of leisure, through their "peppy" music choice and play centers.

there is also this (happymeal video game fun website thing)

Paper Proposal-Rani Khamphilavong

I plan to analyze a website that I was obsessed with in middle school, Neopets.com. Neopets is a game website that people create “pets” and take care of them. There are games that players can play to win money or “neopoints”. What began, as a fun site for procrastination became more of a job in the end. I wanted to get the highly desirable “Royal Paint Brush” and developed a plan that I followed to earn almost 2 million “neopoints”. This is the specific part that I want to analyze about Neopets. Players have to work to get the more special or desirable items that the game offers. But since it is marketed as a game, players don’t realize that they are technically working as well as playing.

Some ideas that relate to what I want to analyze about Neopets are McLuhan’s “Games” reading, E.P. Thompson “Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism”, Caillois and Huizinga. There was definitely a sense of task time while playing Neopets, because I would play all the games I needed to earn the quota of 30,000 that I set for myself. I would use the Caillois, Huizinga, and McLuhan readings to explore the play aspect of Neopets.

-Rani Khamphilavong

leisure time

If we were to compare task-time and labor-time to student life I believe we would find both. Educational programs set up curriculums and requirements and, in this realm I believe that labor-time dominates. Though most students attend schools and study in programs that they have chosen, there are always moments in which you must tolerate and complete certain things to allow you to be recognized for all of the work that you have done. One cannot get a degree based only on what want to do or learn.

My school experience is based on a leisure-time activity. Though in theory I am training for a job by attending school it is not the most economical investment. Paying for school with the intention that it will allow you to earn a living is an investment; however the realm of fine art is not the safest investetment. Being a temporary transfer student I am able to have an interesting perspective on tuitions and education. The school that I attend is a public institution that costs about 4 thousand dollars a semester and from what I understand CCA is almost four times as much. The tuition difference I believe changes some of the attitudes students have towards school. The passion to work doesn’t change and neither does the quality of the work, but I have had many conversations with people here in which the price of their education is affecting how they feel about their classes. How can a class be task time if you know it is worth a large amount of money, not to say that this doesn’t happen at mass art but the stress of money is less present when relating to school or class.

School is a comfort, it is suppose to enable us to find a place in this world and make a living doing so. Society is responsible for educating itself and keeping its people alive and healthy, education is one of society’s tools for doing so. There are so many things we are unable to enjoy under heavy stress levels. Poor working and living conditions as well as small income can lead to very a stressful quality of life in which only leisure-time can be enjoyed. The French want to retire earlier so they can enjoy more idle-time, not leisure-time, enjoying things in life for what they can be now instead of until work tomorrow. Students in England want to get the most out of their education instead of learning with the burden of dept over their shoulders. Dept is a stress that creates labor-time in the present and the fear of labor time in the future. We are in training but this training will lead to dept making us laborers, until the debt is paid.

Blog Post #3

Courtney Costello

Thompson's categories of task-time and labor-time are interesting to consider in relation to art school and CCA. I feel that the lines are not as clear cut as they are at other types of university. The time I spend doing homework I feel is completely task time. We often get anywhere from a week to a month to work on a single assignment. Within that month we get to choose when to work on it, how long to work on it, and ultimately we decide when it is done. There of course are also areas of CCA that resemble labor-time. Such as when we have to sit in classes for X amount of hours and someone else decides when we get to take time for idleness and leisure. But even the labor-time at CCA is often fun. For example last week in one of my classes our teacher had us all clap and laughing before starting class - just for the fun of it. Once I am no longer at CCA I think my experience of work-time will change but I don't know how much. There are ways to be an artist and make money on the side without constantly selling your art. For example this weekend I worked at OpenWater, an event hosted by Openrestaurant and SFMoma, The time I spent there should have been labor-time but to me it felt more like leisure with a hint of task-time. I was getting paid the hours I was there but since I was taking photo's the whole time and talking to interesting people who were mainly artists and gallery folk from the area it was really enjoyable.


When I think of how much money we pay to go to CCA, not only in terms of tuition but in the costs of a single project it used to make me angry. The dilemma of going to art school is that you know its really expensive and you also know that artsits dont make any money. Its kind of like your giving away all your money, plus money you don't have yet, just so that you won't have it later in life. I no longer think of CCA as a place for "job-training" really. When I think about the schools my friends are going to for art and their experiences, I am grateful that I do go to such an expensive school. One of the main and most important aspects we get from CCA is the community. There are so many amazing artists that we have access to that alot of other schools don't. CCA gives us the opportunity to build a strong base of working artists, gallery owners, and curators so that when we do get out of school we already have made some of the connections we will need in order to get our career to really take off.


Both the British and the French are indignant and enraged about the lack of control they seem to have over those who are in charge of their wage/tuition. With the tuition rise from the British it means that fewer people will have access to education and job-training. People who have a school degree have a better chance of getting a well paying job and thus being able to support their family and have leisure time.

Blog Post #3

Emily Cunningham

11/14/10

As a student I feel that school is divided between labor-time and task-time. To graduate I am expected to both spend a certain amount of time in class as well as work on projects on my own schedule. I see homework as being under the category of task-time because although there is always a due date, the project can be completed at anytime between that date and the date that it was assigned. There is also no specific amount of time that must be spent on the project. The amount of time spent on a project is mostly determined by the amount of time it takes to complete it. This amount of time varies from one assignment to another, based off of a variety of factors such as amount of research needed to put into the project or difficulty of subject matter. In this way the task-time aspects of school resemble those of the pre-industrial workers. However, since my day revolves around both the task of homework and the time I must spend in classes, I can’t look at my “job” of being a student as only task-oriented. The specific amount of time spent in class can easily be seen as labor-time. The student may be expected to participate or complete assignments in class, but because it is so time specific it can be considered labor-time.

My idea of leisure time is difficult to explain because it is defined by both the task and labor time put into school. Without homework I could define my leisure time by saying that it consisted of the time outside of my classes, which meet at a designated time. With homework, my leisure time becomes more blurred with the time needed for working. I am able to decide when to make the transition from leisure time to work, but at the same time my day may become structured around an assignment. It is also possible for work and leisure to be combined. I do not know if my experience of work-time will change when I leave school. It will most likely be determined by what type of work I am able to receive. If my work more closely resembles labor-time than my leisure time will be determined by the hours of the day when I will need to be at work. It is possible but probably less common for me to get work that does not have specific hours where I need to work.

Determining whether my education at this specific school was worth the money I put into it might be difficult to do at a time when I’m still attending the school. Since I do not know where my education will take me job wise or through the progress in my art I feel like I can’t make a complete decision. At this moment I feel that the amount of money it takes to get into this school does not seem worth what I get back from it, but I am trying to think of it in terms of job training.

The main connection that I see between the French strike and the British student protests is that they both have a strong relationship to the budget that controls the outcome of their protests. There is one specific quote in a video from the second link in which a reporter explains that while Britain had to deal with budget cuts in housing and childcare benefits “France was having massive strikes and violent protests because of their austerity measures”.

Blog Post #3 - Rani Khamphilavong

I posted my response as a new post since the site was telling me that it was too large to post as a comment!


I consider my time at CCA to largely resemble task-time. When I am doing my studio homework, it is both fun and productive. When my friends and I work on our illustration homework together, we still talk and joke around as we complete our assignments. There is no definite distinction between work and leisure to me. Though there is a sense of labor-time at CCA. We have classes at specific times that we must attend during those hours. But when class is in session, the fun and play is not lost. For example, in my Editorial class, the students as well as the instructor discussed a new movie with owls. We discussed the idea that if we can accept that the owls can talk, can it be possible for owls to talk to monkeys? Labor-time and idle-time are more present to me when I am doing my H&S classes. Idle-time is the most prevalent when I am doing my assignments for my H&S classes. I can only get through a couple sentences in my essays before I find myself mindlessly browsing the internet or playing Pokemon. I consider doing these activities to be idle-time because I am not accomplishing anything while I do them. When I am in my H&S classes, all that I am aware of is the time and how much time is left before I can leave. I consider these classes to be labor-time because I am basically clocking-in and clocking-out of class. I do expect my experience of work-time to change when I leave CCA because I will no long have classes or labor-time to make sure I keep doing art. I would have to create my own labor-time, setting time to motivate myself to keep illustrating.

I think that paying such a large sum of money should influence the students to try their best as a CCA student. We are paying to have access to instructors and facilities that can be hugely beneficial to us. Thought there is the draw back of paying so much money and not guaranteed a job afterwards. That is why the short time we have at CCA is so crucial. Students have to network and develop connections and skills so they can survive in such a competitive field. To have these opportunities and to not have to pay for them exists only in dreams. But there should be a reasonable price to pay for such opportunities.

It is understandable for the British students to strike because making the tuition so high limits the amount of people that can get a higher education. They lose the opportunity to build skills and connections to survive in the work force. I read that the teachers’ salary would also be cut and that could relate to the French strike. The people would have to work longer and earn less. The people would have to wait longer for leisure time. Since they would earn less, the people who have to work won’t be able to afford leisure-time as well.

Blog post 3

Blog post 3

Sofia Greenberg

It is interesting to consider art school, as opposed to other types of education, in terms of Thompson’s categories of time. It is also interesting to consider art school in terms of play versus work. Fine Arts education, I think, blurs the boundaries between work and leisure, and between task-time and labor-time.

First of all, the general education habit of homework is absolutely task-time oriented. A student must complete homework by a certain deadline, but beyond that the student has freedom and control in choosing when and where to do it. Because art school must function in a somewhat academic structure, there are mandated classes that a student must attend during set hours of the day. In this sense, the students are indeed bound to labor-time, with designated hours of concentration and attendance, and designated breaks for idleness or leisure. Also, the student’s work has generally no connection to the revolving of the earth; day light and seasons do not affect a student’s ability to produce work or attend classes, so in this way too education time differs from pre-industrial cyclical time. However, the act of making art is not the same as the act of writing a report, taking notes on a lecture, or filling out math sheets. Art-making is primarily a pleasurable activity, and the student attending art school probably enjoys making art, considers it a kind of play. In this way, art school lies ambiguously between the work and leisure realm. Making art also entails an aspect of task-time. Even though the student is required to fulfill certain amounts of attendance and academic work, the larger focus is on the student’s art. Producing art, in a sense, is more similar to pre-industrial work than industrial work. The artist, like the farmer, attends to the task at hand until it is finished, and then can look at his or her work with satisfaction and take a break. Both the farmer and the artist are directly connected to their work, whereas the factory worker fulfills as many tasks as possible until it is time to clock out, and only benefits monetarily from his or her effort. I imagine that most art students go to art school so that some day, by qualification and skill mastery, they can live a life predominantly task-time oriented, and leisurely. I must admit, though, sometimes I find myself bizarrely craving a labor-time, standard job, to do something semi-mindless for however many hours and have very little responsibility beyond that.

I think the irony of the massive expense of art school versus the likelihood of getting wealthy as an artist is pretty horrible. Student debt is a devilish thing. However, because no one is forced to go to CCA, I think students have to take responsibility for our choice to attend an expensive school that will not likely lead us to stable incomes. I justify this choice by telling myself I will be a creative writing teacher, someday, and a BA will provide credentials for getting that job. I think that for a very long time the realm of Fine Arts as an occupation has been reserved for the elite who can afford not to have all-consuming, "real" jobs. This is an ugly aspect of the Capitalist mindset. I feel pretty conflicted about the moralities surrounding the issue of art school, and I choose not to think about the fact that I’m paying a shit load of money for very little job-training.

I don’t know if I completely understand the connection between the French general strike and the British student protests. But from my understanding, keeping the tuition for higher education reasonable allows more people (people in a broader financial range) to get training for better jobs; jobs that require employees to have gone to university tend to make more money and allow earlier retirement.

Blog Post #3

Today in London, 50,000 students took to the streets to protest an unprecedent fee hike, which will effectively triple the cost of attending university in England. You can read about the protests, and the issues behind them, here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2010/nov/10/demo-2010-student-protests-live
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/11/10/uk.protest/index.html?hpt=T2

We talked recently about another set of protests in Europe: the general strike in France (google "France general strike 2010" if you don't recall the conversation.) It might at first seem like the student protests don't have anything to do with the strike in France; after all, the French workers were demanding an earlier retirement age (in other words, a shorter working life), while the British students are demanding an affordable education. For your blog post, I'd like you to consider the relationship between student life and the life of workers. Please respond to the following questions:

* Using terms from E.P. Thompson, discuss your own relationship, as a student at CCA, to the temporal conditions of work. In what ways does your "job" as a student resemble that of pre-industrial workers? Are there aspects of your work at CCA that resemble task-time as opposed to labor-time? What about idle-time and leisure-time? Do you expect that your experience of work-time will change when you leave the university? How so?

* How do you make sense of the relationship between university tuition/fees and the work you do as a CCA student? To answer this question, you might want to think about what it means to pay for job training--in other words, what it means to pay so that you're able to do a certain kind of work.

* How, finally, do you understand the relationship of the French strike and the British student protests?

As always, have fun with this. But also: PROOFREAD YOUR RESPONSE BEFORE POSTING!

Mapping Assignment

Mapping Assisgnment: The Dérive
















After rereading Guy Debord’s essay, “Theory of the Dérive,” plan to undertake a dérive of your own. Choose a place that’s off the beaten track, where you don’t usually spend any time. Taking into consideration Debord’s description of the dérive, attempt to identify and pursue a “unitary ambiance.”  You will need to figure out how to respond to the ambient qualities of space as you travel through it. Doing this will require you to think carefully about Debord’s assertion that a dérive involves “playful-constructive behavior and awareness of psychogeographical effects.”  What sort of behavior does the space solicit? What kind of effects does it produce? Your goal will be to produce a map of your experience. You will present this map as well as a carefully elaborated account of your experience to the class on Wed Nov 17th.  

When designing your map, consider the limitations and strengths of the Situationists’ maps. Your map need not replicate the style of Situationist mapping; it must, however, take up the challenge of psychogeography, which refuses many of the conventions of ordinary mapping. It will be your task to present a map capable of charting the psychogeographic experience of your derive. Make sure you consider issues of time as well as space.

Report due November 17th in class.

3 PAGES TOTAL (12-pt. Times font, double-spaced, standard margins)

1) Give a rich descriptive account of your derive. (1 page) [You will read this section OUT LOUD in class. Come prepared.]
2) Describe how you translated this experience into a map. (1 page)
3) How does your map respond to, or even critique, the limitations of Situationist mapping? (1 page)

Faye, Maria, Emily Carrasco, Puma

When we first created the game, it seemed like our team had a fairly stable idea of what we wanted to do. However, we made a series of revisions that either made the game too complicated, or too simplistic, and it was difficult to find a solid middle ground. We kept changing the size of the field, how many items we could use, the items purpose, the rules of the game when it comes to player contact. Eventually it seemed like everyone in the group had agreed that the only way we could ensure we were creating a good game or not was to wait until we could play it.
 
When we got around to it, it was rainy and at night; and we were wandering somewhere down around Oakland tech. At first we were determined to find somewhere grassy to play, but when we couldn't hop any fences into the school we just set up a make-shift court on the sidewalk to play there. For some reason, after we managed to explain the rules, throwing some out that we realized had no purpose, and got into the game with four players on each side; the game was actually exceedingly fun. We played a series of four rounds that were all rather successful, then continued playing until we became too cold, wet, and tired to continue.
 
By the end of it, everyone felt fairly exhilarated. The game had competition, movement, and a couple different ways to achieve victory; so there's always the chance of something strange/awesome happening during the game to end it.

Miriam, Ki, Emily, Jess

Relay Race

The Halloween Relay Race incorporates all four of Huizinga’s elements of play: agon, ilinx, alea, and mimicry. It achieves this via three stations: the costume station, the pumpkin toss, and the Death Spin. Two teams with an equal amount of players race against each other in an obstacle course.

The prize—a cauldron on candy—is located at the starting line between the two teams. The game begins with the first player running to the costume station, where there lies a bag of costumes. Player one must choose one article of clothing at random from the bag, and put it on. If at anytime during the race the player loses any part of his or her costume, s/he must retrieve it and put it back on before continuing.

Once fully dressed the player picks up the small pumpkin to begin the pumpkin toss. Player one tries to toss the small pumpkin into the larger pumpkin, located 10 feet from the shooting line. The player must shoot and retrieve the pumpkin until s/he makes the goal.

Once the player succeeds in getting a goal in the pumpkin toss, s/he rolls the dice, determining how many times s/he spins around. S/he spins in place before running across the field to Player Two. Player One removes the costume, and Player Two must dress in that same item before embarking on the race.

Each player repeats this process. The last player on the team will race to the cauldron of candy, declaring their team the winner.

While testing out this game we ran into many problems leading use to refine some areas. We worked out a few obstacle of logistics, for example, we originally wanted to have four groups of four, in a more traditional relay manner, in which each person would complete only one task. However, after testing this method, it would be more entertaing for spectators, and more challenging for the players if all performed each task. Another modification came in the form of costumes. In the beginning the game was set up to use only four articles of clothing. We found that elaborating on the costumes by having groups add on articles of clothing added new dimension to the game and would cause the costume to incur increasing interest as the game progressed. We tried incorporating candy in our pumpkin toss but learned through experience the aerodynamics of pumpkins are preferable to that of candy. In choosing dice we considered many options, including multi sided dice, as well as simply choosing numbers out of a hat. We settled on using two regular dice as we saw them as the least confusing option. Originally we were thinking along the lines of a normal relay race and decided to expand on a Halloween theme. This expansion included the incorporation of pumpkins, candy and costumes. In addition the game was designed four different stations to include all four of Huizinga’s principles, but decided to merge two of the principles into one during our Death Spin obstacle. During our testing of the pumpkin toss we experimented with different ranges between the tosser and the goal. Staring out we tried ranges between 20ft. 15ft., 5ft, and 10ft. Eventually we settled on a 10ft. distance as it seemed the most feasible while still keeping the element of challenge. Our test runs of the game proved extremely helpful in making final decisions about our game and seeing how our ideas played out.

Rani, Elliott and Kevin

Our game is based on a scavenger hunt. The player is given a location and they must go to that location and find the next location. The repeat this until the find the envelope and bring it back to the classroom before the time limit.

We tested out our game with two people. The first subject got lost and that was when we noticed that our game made the player realized how little they knew the campus. We then decided to edit the locations to our three maps so the player will have to go around to school in a way that is unfamiliar to them. Our second subject was able to complete the game faster than the first subject and she revealed that she had asked for help finding places. We first thought of banned the ability to ask questions but then reconsidered because it made people talk to other people they normally wouldn't talk to. She also felt that the phone call at the end disrupted the flow of our game. So we changed it so that the player would have to return to the classroom to finish the game. Having the two people test out our game helped refined our rules and defined a purpose to our game.

Preliminary Report on Revision

I found that testing our game in the field was very productive in the way that it allowed our group to see exactly what worked about our game and what areas needed to be refined. One example of something we found while playing The Halloween Relay Race was that it worked better with two teams appose to our original idea of using teams of four. Although on paper it seemed logical that we should create a game with teams of four, since we have already all been broken into groups of four for the assignment. When testing the game in the field we found it to be far less confusing and hectic two use only two teams. This refinement also allowed our game to run longer and flow more smoothly. Another modification that we made to our game was the rule about the costumes, or mimicry element of the game. Originally the game was set up so that the first person to go for their team would pick a costume compiled of four articles of clothing that would be passed from teammate to teammate until the end of the game. However, we found that elaborating onto one costumes by having each player add an article of clothing to it proved to be superior. This is mainly because it added tension to the end of the game by making the difficulty level of the course increase towards the finish, when time is most important. Another element of the game that changed when testing our game was the alean component. When testing The Halloween Relay Race, initially we considered simply choosing numbers out of a hat, to determine how many times you must spin before you are allowed to run back to your group. We also even entertained the idea of using dice with more than six sides. However, in the end we found that using a pair of normal dice was the simplest and most effective way of incorporating the element of alea. The final main point of revision and testing came in the form of our pumpkin toss. Initially we were clueless as to how far the shooter should be to the pumpkin bucket, however; after experimenting with an array of distances between 20 and 5 feet we settled on a distance of around 10 feet, because of its perfect difficulty level. Testing The Halloween Relay Race in the field proved to be extremely helpful in making final decisions and logistical revisions to our game, it also allowed us to better understand the natural flow of the game.

Venus, Jackie, Sofia, Sophie's game

BINDED AND BLINDED

Designed by: Venus, Jackie, Sofia, Sophia.

The idea behind this game was to have a relay race with teams in which each

person had some kind of sensory handicap. We would have liked to take away the sense

of sight, of speech, and of hearing, one sense per person, but this was too difficult

logistically. In the end, we came up with this: there are two teams of four. There is also

one referee. In a team, there is one person, the Navigator, who is ‘ tied’ to a chair. This

person can speak, but can’ t move. The other three people are tied (or arm-linked) back-to-

back as an “ amoeba,” and each is blindfolded. These are the Seekers (fuck you, Harry

Potter). The game should take place in a basically flat area, no less than 10 yards across.

At the beginning of the game, the referee blindfolds each of the Seekers, ties them

together, and places an object – either a ball, or a flag – somewhere opposite from the

Navigator’ s chairs in the playing arena. Then the referee spins the Seeker amoebas around

a few times, to disorient them spatially, and places them near the Navigators. The referee

gives the signal to start, and each Navigator tries to vocally direct his or her amoeba to the

object. The team who acquires the object wins the game.

A couple variations may apply. For instance, there may be 2 objects, one for each

team, or multiple objects for each team, so that even if one team gets the first object first,

the other team may have a chance to win in the end by getting all of their objects first.

Another variation, which was tested, is to have a moving object. This requires (a) for the

object to be strapped to a dog or cat, or (b) for the object to be a dog or cat. Or hamster.

But preferably not a hamster, because there is a risk of squishing. The hamster should

sign a liability form, at the very least.

One issue to consider, as was discovered, is whether the voices of the Navigators

are very similar. For “ Level 1” , choose two Navigators with distinct voices. For “ Level

2” , choose Navigators with similar voices, to confuse the Seekers. For “ Level 3” , use

kazoos.

It was found that this game, if played in a small arena, doesn’ t take very long to

win. Here are some solutions. 1: play the game in a larger space, for instance, the lawn on

CCA’ s campus. 2: add relatively safe obstacles to the path between the Seekers and the

object. For instance, large exercise balls, pillows, or “ quicksand” (a marked zone that

cannot be entered, or the team loses the game).

Blog Post #2

Take another look at Fuller's Dymaxion World Map:

In class, we analyzed the World Game from a number of theoretical perspectives, but we didn't talk about Deleuze and Guattari. In your blog post, discuss the Dymaxion Map from the point-of-view of Deleuze and Guattari's text. Organize your response into two paragraphs: in the first paragraph, consider the following questions:

* Is Fuller's mapping of game-space "smooth" or "striated"?
* Is the World Game more akin to Go (a war game) or Chess (a game of the state)?

In your second paragraph, give a critique of Fuller's Map. Is the Map an appropriate game-board for the World Game? Why or why not? Keep in mind Deleuze and Guattari's categorization of game-spaces (war games are played in smooth space, games of state in striated spaces). Could the map be redesigned to make it more useful?


Remember, proofread your writing before posting. Your response should be between 300-500 words (include a word count at the end of your post).

To help you out, I've included below a useful summary of Deleuze and Guattari's concept of smooth vs. striated space (an excerpt from this article):

 

Deleuze and space: The smooth and the striated

If we are to grasp Deleuze’s concepts of space, a few words should be said about his ‘political anthropology’, which is intended to replace Karl Marx’ political economy and historical dialectics as an analysis and guide in today’s political struggle. In his account of the historical process, Deleuze introduces an agent called ‘the nomad’, unknown to Marxism, who runs counter to ‘the State’ in the sense that the nomad is aggressively creative, while the State plays the more passive role of consolidator: the State thrives by capturing nomadic innovations and transforming them to fit its own needs, precisely in order to consolidate a certain state of affairs. On the other hand, every consolidated state induces renewed nomadic aggression and inventions that the State must absorb and adapt to its consolidating tissue, which, thus enriched, opens up paths for amplified nomadic action, and so on. In accordance with his philosophical style, Deleuze does not come up with a definition of the nomad, but puts the word into play in different contexts, and such that it never acquires a definite meaning, but rather is intended to serve as a conceptual nomad: an agent in unfinished philosophical, political, artistic and other business. This is not to say that the word is reduced to a metaphor or some other trope; the baffling thing is that the historical and anthropological nomads who used to roam the steppes and deserts, warring against the surrounding States, are indeed subsumed under the concept of the nomad at the same level as other nomads introduced along the way, including ‘mad’ physical particles, viruses and rats as well as craftsmen and engineers, and minorities involved in actions against the State. When the nomad/State opposition is applied to space, the basic principle is that nomad space is ‘smooth’ and heterogeneous, while State space is ‘striated’ and homogeneous. Deleuze illustrates these concepts with an example from technology: woven fabric is striated, that is, with the threads of warp and woof; felt is smooth, as it consists of entangled fibres; it is no accident, Deleuze comments, that the Mongolian nomads excel in using felt for their tents, clothing and even armoury. As a matter of fact, the very spaces inhabited by nomads – steppes and deserts – are smooth, and the same is true of the ice desert inhabited by Eskimos, and of the sea roamed by seafaring peoples. In these spaces orientations, landmarks and linkages are in continuous variation, Deleuze observes, and goes on: “there is no line separating earth and sky; there is no intermediate distance, no perspective or contour; visibility is limited; and yet there is an extraordinarily fine topology that relies not on points or objects, but rather on haecceities, on sets of relations (winds, undulations of snow or sand, the song of the sand, the creaking of the ice, the tactile qualities of both).” In contrast to this fluid state, the spaces inhabited by sedentary peoples – which are State spaces – are striated with walls, enclosures and roads that exhibit constancy of orientation and metric regularity.

Blog Post #1

Blog Post #1

Assignment: Pick a game not discussed by any of the theorists we've read so far. You can choose a sport, a board game, card game, computer game -- any kind of game. Using McLuhan's essay as your guide, speculate briefly (in 300-500 words) about the perceptual and social/political effects of the game. What kinds of social interaction does the game generate (or fail to generate)? If your game is contemporary (the newest Halo game, for example), what social functions do you think it fulfills? If your game is historical (Parcheesi, for example, or boxing) what social functions do you think it originally fulfilled? Feel free to think speculatively (and creatively) about these questions -- I don't expect you do extensive research.

Have fun with this!

Caillois visual aid assignment

That's Caillois in the picture above.

Read Huizinga first, Caillois second.  Your assignment is to create a visual schema or diagram for Caillois's categories of play. The diagram/schema you make should demonstrate that you have considered carefully the relationship of each of these categories (agon, alea, mimicry, and ilinx) to the terms “paidia” and “ludus.”  The visual aid is due in class next week.  It should be visually dynamic and well designed.  It should be something that clarifies (rather than complicates) the relationships between Caillois’ terms.  I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

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