{"id":168,"date":"2022-01-14T08:19:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T08:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/?post_type=portfolio&p=168"},"modified":"2022-04-06T18:16:44","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T18:16:44","slug":"march-22-obfuscation-disappearance-counter-grid-tactics","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/portfolio\/march-22-obfuscation-disappearance-counter-grid-tactics\/","title":{"rendered":"March 22 \u2013\u00a0Obfuscation & disappearance: counter-grid tactics"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Class artifacts<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Presentation slides<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Reading<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

(Reading responses due Monday 8pm, as usual.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022\u00a0Finn Brunton and Helen Nissenbaum, Obfuscation: A User\u2019s Guide for Privacy and Protest<\/em>, 2015. Please read the 4 intro pages, as well as chapter 1. I have also include chapter 2, the epilogue, and the notes. All of the examples in chapter 2 are also fascinating to consider. At minimum please make sure to have a look at example 2.11 (\u201cPersonal disinformation: strategies for individual disappearance\u201d) on page 35. (Update: this text is included in the Google Drive folder under Class resources > All texts. Here’s a direct link<\/a>.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022\u00a0(Optional.) DJ Pangburn, \u201cHow to Disappear in a Fog of Data (and Why)<\/a>,\u201d Vice.com<\/a>, 2016. This Vice piece is in conversation with Brunton about the book. It adds some interesting perspective, but let\u2019s focus on reading the book together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022\u00a0(Optional.) \u201cTechniques of the Observer: Laura Poitras and Hito Steyerl in Conversation<\/a>,\u201d Artforum<\/em>, 2015. This (long) interview adds some context fo the Steyerl video below. Perhaps have a look if you\u2019d like to learn more about the filmmaker and her various philosophies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022\u00a0(Optional.) Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost<\/em>, 2006. This is a collection of poetic and often poignant essays. We already have plenty to read this week, so I\u2019ll just leave this here as something you may want to pick up later if you\u2019re enjoying these themes. I\u2019ll include a short excerpt later in the semester. Summer feels like it\u2019s still a world away, but this could be a great summer read!
Watch<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Screenings<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We\u2019ll watch these together in class, but feel free to watch them on your own before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022\u00a0Hito Steyerl, \u201cHow Not to be Seen: A Fucking Didactic Educational .MOV File<\/a>,\u201d 2013 (15:45)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022\u00a0\u201cDonald Crowhurst Aboard the Teignmouth Electron,” footage originally c1970. From a YouTube video<\/a> uploaded by user Ann Murdoch, 2019. Note this is a 16min video that cuts off and repeats a second time for some reason. Original description from the YouTube post:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Silent film shot by Donald Crowhurst aboard the Teingmouth Electron during his ill fated voyage as part of the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, a single-handed, round-the-world yacht race in 1968-69. The narration is a dramatic reading of his logbook. The Teignmouth Electron was found abandoned and logs, shown in this film, indicate that Crowhurst had violated the rules of the race by stopping to make repairs to his boat, and then began sending in false position reports. Crowhurst’s writing becomes increasingly detached from reality, suggesting that he suffered a psychological crisis which may have led him to commit suicide by jumping overboard. My grandfather, Stanley Best, was Crowhurst’s main sponsor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Projects<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n