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Scripting is Scrying

Teachers
Aarati Akkapeddi, Erica Kermani
Guests
Cy X
Date
Section 1: September 18, 2024 to November 20, 2024
Section 2: September 19, 2024 to November 21, 2024

(10 classes)
Time
Section 1: Wednesdays, 2:30-5:30pm ET Section 2: Thursdays, 10am-1pm ET
Location
Online (Zoom)
Cost
$1200 Scholarships available learn more...
Deadline
Applications closed on August 4, 2024

Apply Now

Description

Scripting is Scrying challenges how western and capitalist hegemonies have shaped technology to serve systems of oppression and extraction. In this class, we will instead draw from mystical practices of the global majority to speculate ways of building harmonious relationships between machines, humans and non-humans. We will look at both ancient and historical precedents as well as contemporary artists to explore ways technological artifacts carry sacred value particularly in non-western and post-colonial contexts, and furthermore, how rituals themselves can be seen as forms of computation in their ability to transmit information and create and/or maintain networks. Participants will synthesize class discussions to then design their own oracles, thinking critically about intention, interpretation, and interaction. We will be using generative techniques and tools such as Markov Chains, ml5.js, and randomness to develop browser-based (p5.js) scrying tools. No prior programming knowledge or experience required. Openness to playing with code is encouraged.

Course of Study

  • Generative techniques and coding tools including ml5.js, p5.js, Markov Chains, and computational randomness
  • Digital divination practices, technologies, and rituals
  • Indigenous cosmologies, networked rituals, and sacred materials
  • Scrying, fortune-telling, and futuring
  • Creating browser-based oracles
  • Data-driven divination and interaction design

Expectations

Time & Workload
  • Assignments include readings/listenings and coding projects, with a final project due at the end. There will be a total of four required readings and/or listenings for the whole class. Students will have a choice whether to complete a reading of a short text or to watch/listen to video or audio content. This material will be primer for the proceeding in-class lectures.
  • Note-taking is encouraged for class discussions and for students to bring in their own materials or precedents. Further references will be recommended for students to explore beyond this class.
  • Students should expect to work on projects outside of class. Projects are intended to be creative explorations, therefore, it is up to each individual as to how much time and effort they want to apply to the assignment.
  • The final project will scaffold off two mini-projects over the 10 weeks. Final projects will live as documentation on the Scripting is Scrying website at the end of class. Documentation of projects will be highly encouraged, as students will be shown different techniques for publishing their work on the web.
Technical Experience
  • This class is open to people with little to no coding experience. Students that do not have coding experience must be proactive about using office hours for additional technical support.
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this class, students will:

  • Be able to critically engage in the discourse around technology, mysticism/magic, spirituality, and ritual through collaborative making, discussion, and analysis.
  • Be able to apply emerging digital tools towards a conceptual practice
  • To gain awareness about historical precedents of creative technology in order to support critical and technical aspects of project building and to contextualize their own work.
  • To gain practice in articulating project goals, impact, and user and audience experiences
  • To demonstrate craftsmanship and attention to detail in studio projects.
  • Develop an understanding of the geopolitical context of their own personal experiences with ritual and technology.

Is this class for me?

This class may be for you if:

  • You are open to exploring your own spiritual practices with respect for those of others.
  • You want to be playful with technology and use code as a conceptual or poetic medium.

This class may NOT be for you if:

  • Your primary goal is to become more technically proficient in p5.js.
  • You are uninterested in learning about non-Western narratives and histories of computation.
  • You aren’t interested in the nuances between ritual and routine.

Meet the Teachers & Guests

teacher

Aarati Akkapeddi

Aarati Akkapeddi is a cross-disciplinary artist, coder, and educator based in Lenapehoking (Brooklyn, NY). They often use personal and institutional archival materials, combining computational and analog techniques like machine learning & printmaking to create artwork that investigates overlooked relationships and histories. Their creative work has been supported by institutions such as The Photographers' Gallery, ETOPIA Center for Art & Technology, and LES Printshop. They work at The Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network, creating digital spaces and tools.

they/them · website · instagram

teacher

Erica Kermani

Erica Kermani (b. 1983, Los Angeles) is a Brooklyn-based transdisciplinary artist dedicated to movement building and collective liberation through art and media, technological sovereignty, and Iranian, Jewish, and queer mysticism. Her artwork utilizes scholarship, memory and archive to produce video, installation, and speculative fiction that interrogate and unsettle dominant narratives, towards healing of self, community, and Earth.  Erica has presented her work nationally and internationally, at Mona Bismarck American Center (Paris), the Science Gallery Dublin, Musée des Arts Decoratif, the International Center of Photography Museum, and Frameline San Francisco. Erica serves as technologist and educator for Community Tech New York and as adjunct faculty at Parsons The New School where she teaches about ancestral and emerging technologies.  Erica is a worker-owner of the QTBIPOC- and immigrant-led cooperative Shadow Work Media focused on transformative storytelling.  Previously she organized the festival Radical Networks (2015-2019) which she co-founded.  Erica has developed curriculum, public programs and published research at organizations including Digital Equity Lab, Data & Society, and Eyebeam (as Director of Community Engagement).  She is a member of the Raha Iranian Feminist Collective and Feminists4Jina NYC.  She holds a BA in Visual Arts (Media/Computing) and Political Science at the University of California, San Diego and an MFA in Design and Technology from the Parsons School for Design (NYC/Paris).

she/her · website · twitter · instagram

guest

Cy X

CY X is an erotic writer, performance artist, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. They work to uncover the way that the erotic and space co-construct each other and utilize a perverted design philosophy that exposes structures of power while also identifying new opportunities for being a body amongst other human and other-than-human bodies in this world. They are grounded in: queer mysticism, BDSM, sex magic, queer theory, design thinking, embodied research, and more-than-human collaboration.

they/we · website · instagram

How do I apply?

Apply Now

Applications open until Applications closed on August 4, 2024.

You can expect to hear back from us about the status of your application on . Please email us at admissions@sfpc.study with any questions you have.

How much does it cost to attend?

For 10 classes, it costs $1200 + processing fees, for a one-time payment. We also offer payment plans. Participants can schedule weekly or monthly payments of the same amount. First and last payments must be made before the start and end of class. *Processing fees apply for each payment.

SFPC processes all payments via Withfriends and Stripe. Please email admissions@sfpc.study if these payment options don't work for you.

Applicant FAQ

For more information about what we look for in applicants, scholarships, and other frequently asked questions, please visit our applicant FAQ.

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