1
T Aug 27
introduction: what is a (cryptic) commodity?
Th Aug 29
discussion: Roland Barthes, “Soap-powders and Detergents”, “Plastic”, “The New Citroën”
2
T Sept 3
presentation: 5 enigmatic commodities, illustrated. Print one captioned image of each commodity and post to the class bulletin board. Each image and caption should convey some aspect of what is strange/interesting/enigmatic/mysterious/magical about the commodity.
TH Sept 5
discussion: “The Fetishism of the Commodity and its Secret“
workshop: typographic magic
3
T Sept 10
workday: research your commodity. find texts related to it. as you hone in on your commodity, test your choice by finding interesting texts that circulate around the commodity, in marketing literature or fiction or social media, or elsewhere.
group meetings: present and discuss, in small groups, the commodity you’re focusing on. talk about what is enigmatical and seductive about your commodity.
TH Sept 12
project introduction: ten fliers
workday and group meetings
4
T Sept 17
workday/desk reviews.
present flier research on class bulletin board. work on commodity copy: gather 10 texts related to your commodity.
TH Sept 19
workday/desk reviews
5
T Sept 24
workday
in-progress presentation: ten fliers. present sketches
TH Sept 26
workday
in-progress presentation: ten fliers. present sketches.
6
T Oct 1
workday/desk reviews
TH Oct 3
workday/desk reviews
7
T Oct 8
discussion: Raymond Williams, “Advertising: The Magic System” (focus on “history,” “development,” and “the system”)
workday/desk reviews
TH Oct 10
workday/desk reviews
8
T Oct 15
introduction: slideshow
TH Oct 17
workday/desk reviews
9
T Oct 22
discussion: Sianne Ngai, Theory of the Gimmick
lecture: ten contradictions of the book as commodity form
TH Oct 24
projection introduction: magic markup
10
T Oct 29
workday/desk reviews
TH Oct 31
workday/desk reviews
11
T Nov 5
presentation: magic markup
TH Nov 7
12
T Nov 12
TH Nov 14
13
T Nov 19
discussion: Robin Fior, Revolutionary Language
workday
TH Nov 21
workday
14
T Nov 26
presentation: magic markup
TH Nov 28
thanksgiving
15
T Dec 3
workday
TH Dec 5
workday