Syllabus

Tandon School of Engineering of New York University 
Technology, Culture and Society
Integrated Design & Media 

DM-GY 9103 O
Accessibility As Creative Practice

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

  • Instructor Stefanie Koseff
  • 370 Jay Street, Ability Project Lab Rm 316B
  • Office hours calendar link 
  • smk8882@nyu.edu

NB : This syllabus is subject to change

COURSE INFORMATION

  • DM-GY 9103 0
  • Accessibility As Creative Practice 
  • Course Description: How does an artist develop an accessible creative practice? In this studio-based course, inspired by Patricia Kalidonis’ “Accessibility as a Creative Practice” and Emily Watlington’s “The Radical Accessibility of Video Art (for Hearing People)” we will focus on creative expression and accessibility. Working across many sensory modalities, students will create original artworks and then re-imagine and re-create the work in multiple forms, expanding their creative practice, deepening their understanding of the chosen subject or theme, and broadening the audience for their work. In this class we will center accessibility as a way to inform an iterative, generative creative practice. We will push the boundaries of each sensory modality, exploring their affordances and limitations.  Disabled artists and members of the disability arts community will be invited as guest lecturers and critics. We will survey artists working across access modalities and read texts on Disability Arts Activism, disability-centered art praxis, and creative access.  Students will complete a number of short, weekly projects, a larger midterm project, and a final project. 
  • Prerequisites: While not required, we recommend students have an existing creative practice in analog or digital media such as (but not limited to) virtual environments, photo, film/video, sculpture, drawing/painting, physical computing, or textiles. 
  • Thursdays 11:00am – 1:50pm
  • 370 Jay Street, Room 316B (The Ability Project Lab) 

COURSE OVERVIEW AND GOALS

This course is a hands-on studio class in which we will discuss and explore disability, art-making, disability justice, the work of disabled artists, creative expression and fabrication. We will consider various modes of accessibility, examine how each mode works in a practical way, and then take things further and incorporate these modes in an experimental way in your artwork. Rejecting typical ways accommodations are often placed on artworks after they are made, you will incorporate accessibility from your artwork’s inception, critically and thoughtfully engaging with the affordances and limitations of each modality. 

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE, STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:

  • Identify and describe commonly used modes of accessibility 
  • Implement each mode of accessibility in an expressive manner with clarity and intention
  • Develop extensive documentation for all projects 
  • Create a body of work during the semester that incorporates modes of accessibility from each artwork’s inception
  • Describe how each mode of accessibility functions within their own artwork as well as in others artworks. 
  • Propose & Develop a final multimodal project
  • Display (if desired) final projects in an end-of-semester IDM showcase

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

In order for all of us to get the most out of this class, please: 

  • Talk to me in person about issues or problems
  • Consult the class site each week for any updated information in the syllabus
  • Come to class on time and be familiar with the current class topics, and be ready to answer or ask questions and participate in discussions
  • Give your classmates constructive feedback. Don’t be passive in critiques or take it personally. Push everyone’s ideas further.
  • Keep up with all of the readings
  • Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and take risks
  • Have fun!

CLASS PARTICIPATION

Class participation is crucial to all of this working well, together. Almost every class will consist of each of you presenting your own work and offering constructive feedback to each other.  We will also be exploring work by other artists and discussing how modes of accessibility inform that work.  This is an experimental space where we will be exploring, experimenting and taking risks. 

Class participation means engaging in class while we are all together, but it also includes: writing responses to assigned class readings and giving great constructive feedback to your peers on weekly projects. 

Students are expected to engage in discussion with each other, invited speakers and at on-site visits. And of course, except for note taking, please refrain from using your computer or the Internet. Use of such tech will limit your ability to participate in discussions.

Participation grades will be determined by the instructor using this rubric: 

  Exemplary
(10 Points)		 Proficient
(8-9 points)		 Developing
(5-7 Points)		 Unacceptable
(5 or fewer points)
Frequency of
In-class Participation 		 Student initiates
contributions more than once in each class.		 Student initiates
contribution once in each class. 		 Student initiates
contribution at
least in half of the classes		 Student does not
initiate contribution and needs instructor to solicit input.
Listening Skills During Class Student listens attentively when others present
materials, perspectives,
as indicated by comments that build on others’
remarks, i.e., student hears what others say
and contributes to the dialogue.		 Student is mostly attentive
when others present ideas,
materials, as indicated by
comments that reflect and
build on others’ remarks. 		 Student is often inattentive and needs reminder of focus of class.
Occasionally makes disruptive comments while others are speaking. 		 Does not listen to others; regularly talks while others
speak or does not pay attention while others speak; detracts from discussion; sleeps, etc. 

Weekly ASSIGNMENTS, readings & Process website documentation 

  • The Assignments are designed to give you the opportunity to deepen your knowledge and practice. Remember, finished is better than perfect. An attempt at an assignment that does not meet your expectations is better than nothing at all. You are expected to push yourself, be curious, and be challenged every week.
  • Assigned Readings: Each week, I’ll also be assigning texts to read or artworks to look at or listen to, or artist websites to explore, often including images and / or interviews with the artist. These assigned readings are intended to give context and further information about the modality, so that you may create informed work.  I suggest you get started with this part of your weekly work first. For each of these assignments, I’ll be asking one or two questions or offering a few ideas to consider. Please post your answers/thoughts (1-3 sentences) as part of your weekly website post. 
  • You’ll be setting up a process website to thoroughly document your work: Documentation for these projects is crucial. Photograph & write about each stage of your creation process.  Be sure to highlight & write about your decisions as you work through these assignments. We want to know what worked, and how you got to where you wanted to get, but also (and maybe more importantly) what did not work. Drop the links to your weekly work in our shared google chat, here. 

Reflection questions to answer as you are working and to include in your process website text. 

      • What is the theme of the work? What is it you aim to express?
      • How is that theme particularly expressed through the modality of the week? 
      • Which elements of the work are beautifully/wonderfully/perfectly expressed through the modality?
      • Which elements are lost or inexpressible through the modality of the week?
      • Who does this project exclude? Who would not be able to interact with this work? Who is this modality not accessible for?
        • Now that you’ve identified who is excluded, what is one way you could remix this piece to include another population? (You don’t have to make this part, but think about it and write about it) 
      • For the remixes: what is lost and what is gained in this remix? What did you have to leave behind and what could you take with you?

For each of these weekly assignments, you will be graded on the following criteria:

    • The project: does it incorporate the assigned modality? (50%)
    • Documentation of the project (25%)
      • photos & videos of each stage of the creation process
      • explanatory text accompanying the images and videos (what are we looking at or listening to)
      • tell the story of how you made this 
    • Reflection questions (25%)

CREATIVE PRACTICE WORKSHOPS

Give a presentation to the class on your individual creative practice. What is your artistic “origin story”? What do you love about this practice? What do you hate about it? What are your thoughts & ideas thus far about how these modes of accessibility we’ve covered fit into your creative practice? Where do they diverge? Design an activity for the class that illustrates the foundational principles of your creative practice.  Perhaps it’s a 10-minute crash course on video editing? A paper-weaving activity? A 3D modeling activity? A poetry-writing workshop? Schedule sign-up sheet here. 

MIDTERM project

At this point in the semester, you will have worked on 7 small projects.  Your midterm assignment will be to add an additional mode of accessibility to two of your short weekly projects, fine-tune your documentation, and create a polished portfolio presentation of your work. This portfolio will both showcase the core skills you have learned thus far, as well as your creative experiments around accessibility.

Final project

Create a final project that incorporates two modalities we have explored this semester. 

ASSIGNED READINGS

No required textbook.
Required readings will be posted to the class website.

GRADING OF ASSIGNMENTS

The grade for this course will be determined according to the following:

Assignments/Activities % of Final Grade
Weekly Project & Documentation [50%]
Midterm  [20%]
Final  [20%]
Class Participation  [10%]

COURSE MATERIALS

EXPECTATIONS FOR WORK OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Students should expect to spend roughly 5 hours each week on supplemental work in this course. This may include reading assignments, writing, exam preparation, research, homework assignments, building, writing code, study time, unsupervised lab work, unsupervised group work, etc.

RESOURCES

COURSE POLICIES

ATTENDANCE AND TARDINESS

Your attendance is important. Notify me of all absences prior to class. Each unexcused absence after your first will impact your final grade by a third of a  letter (ex. one unexcused absence will drop a final grade of A- to B+, two  unexcused absences would drop that A- to a B). If you have 3 or more  unexcused absences, you fail the course automatically. 

Arriving more than 5 minutes after class starts, is “late.” Two “lates” equal one absence. Each absence from class will result in a deduction of 2 points from the final course grade.

But also, life happens! So just keep me informed. 

AI GUIDELINES

The following guidelines apply to the use of third-party AI and machine learning tools (e.g. Midjourney, ChatGPT) in the development of writing or creative deliverables for this class.

  • You MAY use AI in the initial stages of research, idea generation, and drafting.
  • You MAY use AI for language translation.
  • However, you MAY NOT not rely on AI output for significant portions of your work, especially in your writing reflections about your work. 
  • If you do use AI at any stage in your writing or design, you must properly cite and disclose this use. This should include details on the specific tool and version used, as well as the nature of your usage.

All students are responsible for understanding and complying with the NYU Steinhardt and Tandon Statements on Academic Integrity.  These can be found at:

ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS

If you are a student with a disability who is requesting accommodations, please contact New York University’s Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212-998-4980 or mosescsd@nyu.edu. You must be registered with CSD to receive accommodations. Information about the Moses Center can be found at http://www.nyu.edu/csd. The Moses Center is located at 726 Broadway on the 2nd floor.

If you are experiencing an illness or any other situation that might affect your academic performance in a class, please email the Office of Advocacy, Compliance and Student Affairs: eng.studentadvocate@nyu.edu.

STATEMENT ON INCLUSION

The NYU Tandon School values an inclusive and equitable environment for all our students. I hope to foster a sense of community in this class and consider it a place where individuals of all backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, national origins, gender identities, sexual orientations, religious and political affiliations, and abilities will be treated with respect.  It is my intent that all students’ learning needs be addressed, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit.  If this standard is not being upheld, please feel free to speak with me.