[HacktionLab] Fwd: [Mute-social] New MA/MSc in Creating Social Media by Goldsmiths

[Zoe Young]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[Mute-social] New MA/MSc in Creating Social Media by Goldsmiths
Date: 	Fri, 1 Jul 2011 14:09:12 +0100
From: 	Goetz Bachmann <goetz.bachmann at gmail.com>
To: 	mute-social at lists.metamute.org



/There is a new MA/MSc in “Creating Social Media”, run by Goldsmiths’ 
Computing and Centre for Cultural Studies.

/
/The programme is a collaborative crash-course in hacktivism, and has a 
strong focus on building stuff and interventions. The computing part 
leans heavily towards hacking and social media software, and the 
Cultural Studies part focuses on theory and practice that enables new 
forms of social media.

/
/The course will draw together people from a wide spectrum, some with a 
technical background, and others, who's main focus has been 
communications, culture, society or politics (computing/hacking 
background is great, but not required – people without such background 
will be offered an additional one-month boot camp for the necessary 
basics). There will be internships. There is also an eclectic group of 
people teaching on the programme: Dan McQuillan, Matt Fuller and Bernard 
Stiegler, for example.

/
/It would be great if you could spread the word to any potential people 
interested! The MA will start in 11/12. Below you find the blurb and 
some more infos./


_MA/MSc IN CREATING SOCIAL MEDIA
_
What does social media look like after recent events in North Africa and 
the UK? What will you create? This unique theory/practice programme 
combines computing and cultural studies to provide people with the 
practical and critical skills to shape the future of social media. The 
MA/MSc is a collaborative theory/practice programme across the 
Department of Computing and the Centre for Cultural Studies, and is part 
of the newly launched Centre for Creative and Social Technologies.

Based on global examples, we will explore the technological and 
intellectual questions that have risen to prominence with the social 
web. We'll critique existing approaches and tools, and plan, develop, 
hack and implement ground-breaking applications and campaigns. We will 
not only analyse: we will create.

New social media platforms, at their best, develop new online forms of 
connecting, relating, sharing and competing. Effective and innovative 
social media creation, therefore, involves deep theoretical and 
practical knowledge of both software development and social processes. 
The MA/MSc will teach people how to develop and hack social media 
software, how social worlds operate, how software tools enable different 
forms of social practice, and how new social media projects can be 
launched successfully. Graduates will accelerate the impact of social 
media in their chosen field.

Participants will become proficient in

    * Computing skills in software development for new social media
      platforms, mashups, apps, and tools. This includes both coding and
      data skills, and a hacker approach
    * Theories of social processes and in methods to research them.
    * Adapting social media to a variety of technological contexts and
      to the needs of specific communities
    * Surfacing the assumptions and limitations embedded in software
    * Critically assessing contemporary discourses about social media
      and social change
    * Project managing social media ventures, and keeping users included
      at all stages
    * Creating social media interventions that address social processes
      in new ways.

/Official web page: http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-creating-social-media/ - 
here you can also read about the modules (Digital Sandbox, Mediating the 
Social, Software Studies, Digital Research Methods, Internships, and so 
on).

/
/Developer’s blog: http://macreatingsocialmedia.wordpress.com/ - 
comments and ideas WELCOME!/
/
/
/My colleague (d.mcquillan [AT] gold.ac.uk <http://gold.ac.uk>) and I 
(g.bachmann [AT] gold.ac.uk <http://gold.ac.uk>) are also happy to get 
in contact.
/

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