This course is organized as a series of discussions and studio sessions based on texts and on visual and aural media. I will provide a framing narrative. Beginning with the fifth week of class, each week a student will present their own work, both for its own sake and in terms of its relationship to the general theme of the class. The week’s discussion will emerge from that presentation. I encourage unconventional presentation methods which require you to stretch your skill sets.

The success of the class depends upon what you bring to it. I rarely lecture; instead, I guide discussion. This approach has its risks as well as its rewards. Some days nothing happens. When we can’t kickstart a discussion for whatever reason, rather than requiring all of us to sit and stare at each other, I will declare studio time or send you home. Other days the heavens open and Truth descends in a fiery chariot. It’s unpredictable. Go figure.

The ACTLab prime directive is Make stuff – in our case, produce two projects that elucidate and exemplify course topics as we unpack them during the semester. This means One small preliminary work to be completed in six weeks and to be presented at midterm as proof of concept; and One large final work incorporating theory, ideas that emerge from our evolving class community, things students bring to our discussions from outside, and inspiration from guest performers and lecturers.

Your final work, besides being an exploration and/or refinement of your semester’s theoretical studies, will be an original contribution to the development of transdisciplinary approaches to research, redefining the scholarly mission, and exploring new pedagogy for the twenty-first century university.

You will develop your skills using ACTLab principles of intensive discussion, conceptual freeplay, and intellectual daring. Working in the ACTLab's technology-rich environment, you will master cutting edge hardware and software with an eye toward new ways of representing your work. We encourage unconventional approaches, flexibility, and multidisciplinarity – not only for their intrinsic worth, but because multiple knowledge sets are what you need to thrive in the era of exponential change.

You will learn by study and example to translate your research into digital media, sound, movement, performance, and other dynamic modes of representation. You will also become a member of the ACTLab’s international community of award-winning researchers, entrepreneurs, performers, artists, and scholars. You will share their advice and experience via ACTLab mailing lists, workshops,and personal encounters.

Below are the semester’s three topics, together with suggested adjunct material. I encourage you to suggest your own additions. The actual day-to-day structure of the class will emerge from our discussions of this material and its relation to our individual work. This syllabus is preliminary in the sense that it will be developed and elaborated by our interactions during the first weeks of class. I will post a final version October First.

Surreality:
Freud
Blood of a poet
Holly Lewis
Un Chien Andalou
Dreamstates and dream interpretation
Additional material linked to the class website

1. Do the reading!
2. When you come to something that intrigues or excites you, make a note about it.
3. When you come to something that puzzles you, make a note about it.
4. When you come to something that drives you up the wall, make a note about it.

Here's what I expect from you during discussion:

1. Ask or talk about the parts of the text that you made notes about.
2. Participate. Talk. Ask. Argue. Laugh. (some of the readings are ludicrous.) None of this stuff is holy, none of the opinions are cast in concrete.
3. Bring in stuff -- maybe text, maybe just stuff -- that you feel relates to the reading. Throw it on the table, say why it's there, and see what happens.
4. My main job during discussion is to listen. My role is to make an opening or framing statement to start from. I'll guide when necessary, and clarify tough points. Discussion time gives me my best sense of how you're thinking about the theoretical part of our work together.

Participation is a key to success in this class, and you can't participate in discussion in a real way unless you've done the reading. Consequently Rule Number One is: Do The Reading! There are things in some of the essays that you may not understand. Make notes about them. Then ask about them during discussion.

End of semester cleanup. You leave the ACTLab in the same condition in which you found it at the beginning of the semester. No grades will be issued until this requirement is fulfilled. If one person doesn't do their job, no one gets a grade -- i.e., all classes are responsible for the workspace and you are responsible for each other.

The Fine Print: This syllabus is V.1.0. It may be updated from time to time as necessary.

Regarding Scholastic Dishonesty: The University defines academic dishonesty as cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to avoid participating honestly in the learning process. Scholastic dishonesty also includes, but is not limited to, providing false or misleading information to receive a postponement or an extension on a test, quiz, or other assignment, and submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor. By accepting this syllabus, you have agreed to these guidelines and must adhere to them. Scholastic dishonesty damages both the student's learning experience and readiness for the future demands of a work-career. Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. For more information on scholastic dishonesty, please visit the Student Judicial services Web site at http://www.utexas.edu/depts/dos/sjs/.

About services for students with disabilities: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.

About the Undergraduate Writing Center: The Undergraduate Writing Center, located in the FAC 211, phone 471-6222, offers individualized assistance to students who want to improve their writing skills. There is no charge, and students may come in on a drop-in or appointment basis.

Warning: This class may include explicit representations of, or may advocate simulations of, one or more of the following: Nudity, satanism, suicide, sodomy, incest, bestiality, sadomasochism, adultery, murder, morbid violence, paedophilia, bad grammar, deviate sexual conduct in a violent context, the use of illegal drugs or alcohol, or offensive behavior. But then again, it may not. Should your sensibilities be offended at any time, you are free to leave the classroom without penalty provided that you notify either the instructor or teaching assistant when you do so.