The Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM) is an excellent resource for those interested in interdisciplinary research and collaboration. BCNM brings together students, researchers, industry figures, and the broader public to stimulate new perspectives on contemporary new media. Described by Abigail De Kosnik (Assistant Professor in BCNM and the Department of Theater, Dance & Performance Studies) as “more a culture than a center”, BCNM invites collaborators from the humanities, the arts, social sciences, and technology to participate. Past projects have included collaborations between students in EECS and New Media for developing digital humanities tools to analyze online fan communities, and hosting events such as a Wikipedia edit-a-thon and an urban data hackathon.
Academics
BCNM offers a Designated Emphasis in New Media and a Certificate in New Media for Masters and Ph.D. students. To earn an Emphasis or Certificate, students take two core BCNM courses three relevant electives and complete related research in new media. BCNM offers graduate level cross-disciplinary courses in three areas of inquiry: Humanities, Technology, and Art/Design. See BCNM’s website for current course listings and information about applying. BCNM supports a number of graduate fellowships. An Undergraduate Certificate in New Media is also available through BCNM.
Community
BCNM regularly hosts lectures, conferences, and hackathons. See their event calendar for upcoming events.
The Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium
Berkeley’s Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium is an internationally recognized forum for presenting new ideas that challenge conventional wisdom about art, technology, and culture. This series, free of charge and open to the public, presents artists, writers, curators, and scholars who consider contemporary issues at the intersection of aesthetic expression, emerging technologies, and cultural history, from a critical perspective.
History and Theory of New Media
The History and Theory of New Media Lecture Series brings to campus leading humanities scholars who work on issues of media transition and technological emergence. The series promotes new, interdisciplinary approaches to questions about the uses, meanings, causes, and effects of rapid or dramatic shifts in techno-infrastructure, information management, and forms of mediated expression. All lectures are free and open to the public.
BCNM also works closely with the student-organized New Media Working Group sponsored by the Townsend Center for the Humanities.
photo credit: Don Buchla, “How Complicated Could a Metronome Be?” at the Art, Tecnology, and Culture Colloquium, March 10, 2014 | Credit: Greg Niemeyer