Orientation (weeks 1-4)

1.  August 31st
Introduction to course
MONEY
Fieldwork: Select a location around 13th Street and 5th Avenue to observe and record all actions concerning money for 20 minutes.  20-minute in class writing assignment.
- Set up Tumblr Blog, Follow writersblockparty.tumblr.com
- Set up class Google Mymaps - add money documentation to the map
- Create Blog Post 1-  2 paragraphs of text and 2-3 images

2.  September 7
MONEY
Reading:
Read chapter 1 in:
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: BBC, 1972.

Fieldwork: Walking tour of the High Line, Meatpacking District and visit to Chelsea Enclave

Assignment:
1 page analysis of reading -
How can you apply John Berger’s frameworks for “seeing” to how we observe the demonstration and flows of money in NYC?
(started in-class)
Blog Post 2 - Work in groups of 3 to plan a $5, $50, $500 daily food budget in the Meatpacking District. Include 1-2 images. (started in class)

3.  September 14
FOOD
Reading:
Read the introduction and letters 1-5 in:
Rilke, Rainer Maria. Letters to a Young Poet. Translated by Joan M. Burnham. Novato, CA:
New World Library, 2000.

Fieldwork: Bodega Breakdown - visit a local bodega and observe products, food names, menus, and the lifestyles, eating styles and cultures it facilitates.  Use your field notes to compose a 1-page scene from a play using entirely words lifted from the landscape and soundscape of the bodega.

Assignment:
1 page writing assignment - Blog Post 3

4. September 21
FOOD
Reading:
Read letters 6-10 in Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet.

Linda Keller Brown and Kay Mussell. 1984. Ethnic and Regional Foodways in the United States: The Performance of Group Identity. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. (handout)

In-Class: Writing on food topics (brown paper lunch bag), Slow Food and Fast Food (McDonalds and Per Se)

Film: “Food Inc,” Robert Kenner (2010).

Assignment:
1 page writing assignment - Blog Post 4

Weeks 5-7: Formal Analysis
5. September 28
FOOD
Readings:
Barnet, Sylvan. Excerpt from A Short Guide to Writing about Art, 7th edition, 95-114. New York: Longman, 2003. (ereserves)

Steve Ettlinger. 2007. Twinkie, Deconstructed. New York: Hudson Street Press. (handout)

Handout: Guide to formal analysis

Fieldwork: Comparative analysis of the design and marketing principles of Pinkberry and Red Mango - Blog Post 5

Assignment:
1 page writing assignment

6. October 5
CLOTHING
Readings:
Sze Tsung Leong, “…And Then There Was Shopping: The last remaining form of public life” in Chuihua Judy Chung, et. al. eds. 2002. GSD Guide to Shopping. Cambridge: Harvard School of Design.

Fieldwork: Sephora, H&M, Whole Foods, McDonalds. Supermarket and Fast Food Fashion.

Assignment:
Blog Post 6
Visit the Standard Hotel on the High Line.
Design a postcard featuring food and fashion from your visit.

7. October 12
CLOTHING -
Brand Building, Fashion Culture and the Making Things Happen

Readings:

Guest Lecture and Workshop:
Marketing and Branding workshop with Laura Nolte, Marketing Manager at Andrew Balazs Properties and Luther Cherry, Stylist and Fashion Blogger

Selections from Monocle magazine.

Assignment:
1 page writing assignment - Blog Post 7

Weeks 8-10: Designs as Signs: Interpreting Messages
8. October 19
CLOTHING
Selections from “2 or 3 Things I Know About Her” - Jean Luc Godard.

Readings:
Ben Sisario,”Looking to a Sneaker For a Band’s Big Break.” The New York Times. October 10, 2010.

Blog Post 8:
Design Problem, Design Solution - Union Square.
Identity a clothing design problem/crisis.
Propose a solution that is a new fashion brand.
First draft of personal brand concept paper.           
Due in class - bring 1 copy of your paper and images to submit.

9. October 26
MUSIC/SOUND
Readings:
Juhani Pallasma. 2005. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. Indianapolis: Wiley.

Fieldwork: Sound portrait of the Garment District (El Sabroso Food and Mood Fabric) - Blog Post 9

Assignment:
One page analysis of each reading and/or group presentations.

10.  November 2
MUSIC/SOUND  
Readings:
Bierut, Michael. “A Manifesto with Ten Footnotes.”  In Looking Closer Four: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, edited Michael Beirut, William Drentell and Steven Heller.  New York: Allworth Press, 2002, pp. 237-244.

Loos, Adolf. “Ornament and Crime” (1908). In Ornament and Crime: Selected Essays,
167-176. Translated by Michael Mitchell. Riverside, CA: Ariadne Press, 1998.   

Guest Lecture: Erik T. Burke, public artist

Assignment:
Two page urban style manifesto based on readings and fieldwork - Blog Post 10

11.  November 9
MUSIC/SOUND
Reading:
Sparke, Penny. “Postmodernism and Design.” In An Introduction to Design and Culture (1900
to the Present) 2d ed., 181-197. London: Routledge, 2004.

VIdeo Clips: Homeless World Cup, Tied Together, Planet B-Boy, The Yes Men Fix the World, Improv Everywhere, Inside/Outside.

Work in groups to produce a video that mashes up your manifestos, publish it to Tumblr, and then find a way to insert your video and/or manifesto into a public space in New York City.

Assignment:
One page writing on Sparke essay and Outline of essay due

12. November 16
EVENT PRODUCTION
In-Class Desk Crits and Design Workshop: Redesign of branding, content and video promotion for Parsons’ orientation guide, “Success in the City”

Assignment:
First draft of essay due

November 23 - NO CLASS

13. November 30
BOOK PRODUCTION
In-Class Desk Crits and Design Workshop: Redesign of branding, content and video promotion for Parsons’ orientation guide, “Success in the City”
Assignment:
Work on final version of essay due

14.  December 7
BOOK PRODUCTION
In-Class Desk Crits and Design Workshop: Redesign of branding, content and video promotion for Parsons’ orientation guide, “Success in the City”

Assignment:
Final version of essay due

15.  December 14
Final Presentations