New Media

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2015-16 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu.

About the Program

The Undergraduate Certificate in New Media program emphasizes the critical understanding and practice of new media through interdisciplinary perspectives. The certificate introduces students to the changing new media landscape that is transforming the way we think in the fields of art, technology, the humanities, and social sciences. Our students learn to innovate as they question the impact of new media on the human experience. The certificate program will serve as a pilot and a portal for undergraduate engagement in new media. The certificate is not an official program offered by Undergraduate Education and will not be noted on a student’s transcript.

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Certificate Requirements

Core Class

Students should take a project-based undergraduate seminar at NWMEDIA with learning goals that will include new media theory, new media tools, prototyping, evaluation methods, and collaboration methods. This course will be listed as a course for EECS Design Minors, among others. Any NWMEDIA undergraduate course will count towards the core class. Students can also petition the academic committee to have a course that substantially deals with new media that they have taken in another department count towards fulfilling this requirement.

New Media Leadership

Help organize and manage a BCNM conference, lecture, hackathon, or workshop. Students will have the opportunity to interact extensively with new media faculty, and will be immersed in the subject. Students can also propose a new media event to the BCNM. These applications will be considered by the executive committee.

Choose Option 1 or 2

Option 1: Enroll in a New Media Graduate-Level Course

Students will be challenged to think critically about new media in the graduate-level courses the BCNM offers. They will produce either a design project or a substantial paper depending on the class, showing their thorough appreciation for transformations in new media. Since these courses are intended for graduates, students will need to seek instructor approval to enroll in the class. Currently, the BCNM offers the following graduate courses:

NWMEDIA 200History and Theory of New Media4
NWMEDIA 201Questioning New Media3
NWMEDIA 202New Media Methods3
NWMEDIA 203Course Not Available4
NWMEDIA C262Theory and Practice of Tangible User Interfaces4
NWMEDIA C263Technologies for Creativity and Learning3
NWMEDIA C265Interface Aesthetics2
NWMEDIA 290Special Topics in New Media1-4

Option 2: Produce a final project during an independent study on a new media topic

Students may enroll in an independent study with a BCNM faculty member to produce an extended paper or final project on a new media topic of their choice. Topics must be pre-approved by the BCNM Director. The paper should exhibit the student’s thorough command of new media concepts.

Related Courses

NWMEDIA R1B New Media Reading and Composition 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2017 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2015 First 6 Week Session
How do media shape our perception of our environment? What is at stake when we adopt or create new media? This seminar provides continued training in expository and argumentative writing, with an emphasis on new media. Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

NWMEDIA 39A Freshman Seminar in New Media 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015
This freshman seminar offers lower division students the opportunity to explore new media with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting.

NWMEDIA 90 Introduction to New Media 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2017 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session
See Schedule of Classes for current section offerings. Topics introduce new media and related issues.

NWMEDIA 150AC New Media and American Cultures 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2014 10 Week Session, Summer 2014 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2013 First 6 Week Session
This course studies the influence of new media on various cultures in the U.S. and/or the influence of American cultures on new media. Topics vary by semester. Check current Schedule of Classes or Berkeley Center for New Media web site for current course offerings (bcnm.berkeley.edu).

NWMEDIA 190 Special Topics in New Media 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
See Schedule of Classes for current section offerings. Topics deal with new media and related issues.

NWMEDIA 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
Course may be student-intitated or initiated by a faculty affiliate of the Center for New Media. The subject matter will vary from semester to semester. Student initiated courses will be taught by a student facilitator under the supervision of the faculty sponsor, who must be a faculty affiliate of the Berkeley Center for New Media.

NWMEDIA 200 History and Theory of New Media 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
This course provides a broad historical and theoretical background for new media production and practice. The class will map out theoretical approaches from different disciplines and allow graduate students to discuss and apply them to their own research projects.

NWMEDIA 201 Questioning New Media 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Held in conjunction with the Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium which brings internationally-known speakers to campus to present their work on advanced topics in new media: http://atc.berkeley.edu. Students will enhance skills in questioning new media: how to think critically about new media, how to use new media resources to research pioneering work in new media, how to form incisive questions about new media, and how to evaluate and create
effective presentations on topics in new media.

NWMEDIA 202 New Media Methods 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2014
In this methods course we will study key languages of new media innovation, ranging from flow charts to scripting languages and circuit diagrams. Our study method involves the creation and application of sensing devices in an urban context, and engages students in establishing chains of references which connect ground truth to data, data to information, information to people, people to actions, and actions to policies. Taking into account technical, political, cultural
and literacy questions we seek to connect our data production work with information needs of underserved communities in the Bay Area region.

NWMEDIA C203 Critical Making 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016
Critical Making will operationalize and critique the practice of “making” through both foundational literature and hands on studio culture. As hybrid practitioners, students will develop fluency in readily collaging and incorporating a variety of physical materials and protocols into their practice. Students will envision and create future computational experiences that critically explore social and culturally relevant technological themes. No previous
technical knowledge is required to take this course. Class projects involve basic programming, electronic circuitry, and digital fabrication design. Tutorials and instruction will be provided, but students will be expected to develop basic skills in these areas to complete course projects.

NWMEDIA C262 Theory and Practice of Tangible User Interfaces 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
This course explores the theory and practice of Tangible User Interfaces, a new approach to Human Computer Interaction that focuses on the physical interaction with computational media. The topics covered in the course include theoretical framework, design examples, enabling technologies, and evaluation of Tangible User Interfaces. Students will design and develop experimental Tangible User Interfaces using physical computing prototyping tools
and write a final project report.

NWMEDIA C263 Technologies for Creativity and Learning 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2014
How does the design of new educational technology change the way people learn and think? How do we design systems that reflect our understanding of how we learn? This course explores issues on designing and evaluating technologies that support creativity and learning. The class will cover theories of creativity and learning, implications for design, as well as a survey of new educational technologies such as works in computer supported collaborative learning
, digital manipulatives, and immersive learning environments.

NWMEDIA C265 Interface Aesthetics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
This course will cover new interface metaphors beyond desktops (e.g., for mobile devices, computationally enhanced environments, tangible user interfaces) but will also cover visual design basics (e.g., color, layout, typography, iconography) so that we have systematic and critical understanding of aesthetically engaging interfaces. Students will get a hands-on learning experience on these topics through course projects, design critiques
, and discussions, in addition to lectures and readings.

NWMEDIA 290 Special Topics in New Media 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
See Schedule of Classes for current section offerings. Topics deal with new media and related issues.

NWMEDIA 299 Individual Study or Research 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
Individual study or research with Center for New Media- affiliated faculty. This course provides the opportunity to search out and study in detail subjects unavailable in the ordinary course offerings. Unit credit will reflect conparable work per unit as regular courses, and will include both meetings with faculty sponsor and independent work.

Contact Information

Center for New Media

426 Sutardja Dai Hall

Phone: 510-495-3505

info.bcnm@berkeley.edu

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Director

Greg Niemeyer

416 Sutardja Dai Hall

niemeyer@berkeley.edu

Program Manager

Lara Wolfe

426 Sutardja Dai Hall

Phone: 510-495-3505

lara@berkeley.edu

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