Dartmouth sparked the interest of the technologically inclined on Friday when the College hosted the Symposium on Digital Culture and the Arts in Loew Theater.
The speakers' presentations focused on digital culture and how it assists artistic projects. Presenters covered topics from several disciplines, including the pressing issues of copyright and digital sharing.
David Lyon from the Queen's University department of sociology spoke about the use of cellular phones and social surveillance, while University of Southern California cinema professor Marsha Kinder presented on database documentaries as cultural history.
Marianne Weems of the Builders Association, a media and performance company based in New York, used the digital medium for a presentation on the need for identity protection in an increasingly technological world. With the help of a short film, Weems showed how a body of data undergoes a transformation with each digital transaction made, creating a data portrait of each individual by integrating each person's digital records.
The Builders Association recently brought their show "Alladeen" to Dartmouth and is hoping to do the same with their up and coming show. The new presentation will include themes of traveling data, identity theft, and what actually makes up identity. The creators hope to have the show interact with the audience by tapping into their own digital identities through zip codes.
The professors responsible for the symposium said they were pleased with its outcome.
"I think this demonstrates the wide level of interest in these issues across campus. Dartmouth is in a unique position to consider how the rise of digital culture should be addressed in our curriculum." said Mark Williams, a film and television studies professor.
The symposium, supported by the Cyber-Disciplinarity Humanities Institute through the Fannie and Alan Leslie Center, was the first of two such events this spring. A second conference to address digital culture will take place May 13 and 14.
The technology of personal computers and the Internet alter how scholars view and execute their research. The Cyber-Disciplinarily Institute explores the effects of cyber-culture and the challenges that it presents to academic disciplines.
