I’ll be down in Los Angeles next week to give a lecture at SCI-Arc on the night of Thursday, November 15. The talk is sponsored by Ed Keller’s new MediaSCAPES program, with the support of onMatter, and it should be a lot of fun.
MediaSCAPES, for those curious, describes itself as follows:
Founded and directed by Ed Keller, MediaSCAPES… blends an intensive design studio culture with theory, research and practice. A cutting edge faculty team – with critics, lecturers, workshop leaders and guests drawn from academia and professional practice worldwide – provides students with training and a vital global network in both academic and professional contexts.
It does this in a “‘thinktank R&D’ environment,” concentrating on “technology, software, media, film and game spaces, to produce new content and ideas.” The program thus prepares students for “positions in design, research and theory work across the fields of architecture, new media, landscape design, and digital cinema.”
I’ll be giving a talk called Future Conjecture Speculation and, as far as I’m aware, it’s free and open to the public; it starts at 7pm on November 15; it’s located here; and, against all better judgement, I’ll try to mention the secret burial place of Christ at least once… and I’ll almost certainly discuss the militarization of geology, some urban knot theory, a few solidified carbon dioxide cities, and an inflatable architectural cosmos or two. Maybe even the museum of assassination.
And if you’re interested in applying for admission to the MediaSCAPES program, click here
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More info about the talk should be coming up soon! I’m excited.
hi geoff,
i’ve recently come upon this site and find the topics mostly fascinating, particularly the spatial and historical analysis of militarism you provide. i’m returning to school to study urban design and planning next fall; any thoughts on paths of study (work in other departments, for example) that might address similar issues. i’m unsure of the extent to which this is a typical concentration in planning programs and would be interested in knowing how you came upon the topic.
ds – Sorry it took so long to respond to this!
My interests in military urbanism have just sort of developed over the years, with no particular tie back to a university department of specific thread of coursework – I think a lot of your success in pursuing something like that within the academy will depend upon finding an interested and sympathetic faculty member who will let you work across the disciplines of history, military history, urban planning, and some architectural theory.
Following things where they lead, across apparently unconnected departments, tends to produce great work, and so I would recommend doing that – as well as writing a lot. Write what you’re interested in, over and over again, even if no one ever reads what you’ve written, as that will help refine the basic ideas – and then you’ll be in a good position to negotiate decisions about coursework, etc.
Good luck! And have fun.