This course will look at changing notions of identity, time and space, cultural production and media brought about by our engagement with networked, nonlinear communications. At a conceptual level it will look at new theories of complexity and connectivity, globalisation and the information society. There will be an emphasis on how net communication, art and design have changed our relation to time-based media. Students will be asked to locate and research aspects of net culture such as virtual worlds and to look at new forms of animation used online. Particular attention will be paid to how artistic practices and productions have developed through networked cultures and to the growing genre of net art.

At a practical level, students can expect to develop research and network communication skills by taking this course. The course will focus on an engagement with net structures such as search engines, hypertext, databases, flash animation and basic web design. It is envisaged that the course will trial and develop several online teaching facilities such as a chronologically web log or 'blog' that experiements with time in online spaces.