COML 4705 - The (Sino)Graphic Imagination

(crosslisted)
(also ASIAN 4464, VISST 4705)(GB) (LA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits.

Co-meets with ASIAN 6664/COML 6705/VISST 6705.

A. Bachner.

The emergence of new media always entails a reflection on the possibilities, and limitations of existing media of communication and representation. The rise of digital media puts particular pressure on writing. While some predict the disappearance of writing as we know it, for others, new media are becoming a test case for thinking about the multiple expressive possibilities of writing and differences in script systems. This course will trace modern media imaginaries through the special case of the Chinese script. What role does sinographic writing play for global changes in media from the 19th century to today? We will put theoretical texts (by Derrida, Adorno, Lyotard, Kristeva, Rodowick and others) in dialogue with experiments with Chinese characters in film, architecture, design, art, and literature.