.Syllabus – SOUND ART

FALL 2020
IA 230 Sound Art
Maryland Institute College of Art – Online
Tuesday – 4pm -10pm (Actual class duration will be adjusted for remote learning)
PROFESSOR: JASON SLOAN
ELECTRONIC MAIL – jsloan@mica.edu
ZOOM OFFICE HOURS: Wednesdays 1-2pm EST [-5GMT] or by appointment.

DOWNLOAD FULL SYLLABUS + WEEKLY SCHEDULE HERE

REQUIRED TEXTS:
Licht, Alan, Sound Art: Beyond Music, Between Categories, Rizzoli, 2007.
Licht, Alan, Sound Art Revisited, Bloomsbury, 2019.

REQUIRED SUPPLIES/MATERIALS:

• Portable hard drive or something to back up your work with.
• Adobe Audition and Ableton Live
• Over ear headphones. No ear buds. (Shure SRH440 are great studio headphones in their price range.)
• Students must have a working e.mail account that you check daily.

SUGGESTED SUPPLIES/MATERIALS:
• Portable digital audio recorder such as a Zoom H4N, H4Nsp or Tascam DR-40

COURSE INTENT:
Sound Art is a studio introduction to the development of sound as an expressive, sculptural, environmental, networked & musical medium. Students will be introduced to a broad range of historical, contemporary and hybrid techniques, ideologies and creative approaches used by artists working in the field. The course will also survey such pivotal genres of sound art and the avant-garde as: Musique Concrète, Tape music, Industrial & Noise music, Sound Sculpture, Sound Installation Art, etc. Artists and Composers who helped define these genres will be introduced through lecture and discussion. Concepts of acoustemology, deep listening, networked music and sound in relationship to video and video synthesis will also be covered.

REMOTE LEARNING OBJECTIVES/ OUTCOMES/ CONCEPTS:
Upon completion of Sound Art you will be able to:

REMOTE LEARNING OBJECTIVES/ OUTCOMES/ CONCEPTS: Upon completion of Sound Art you will be able to:

• Record and edit sound in most Digital Audio Workstations (DAW).
• Successfully define the concept of Sound Art as a medium and its history in contemporary art.
• Understand the application for various types of microphones: ie: binaural, hydro, etc..
• Designing a Sound Installation artwork.
• Develop skills for basic audio editing and mixing.
• Understanding the concept and application of sound displacement.
• Work with and understand sound sculpture (tactile).
• Create a mobile sound installation.
• Work with the sonic possibilities of physical objects.
• Conceptualizing sound as a visual medium.

ONLINE STUDENT REQUIREMENTS:

I. PROJECTS:
There will be 4 projects given throughout the semester. Each assignment will have a due date and is to be completed and uploaded to your SoundCloud on by the assigned due date.

II. READINGS & LISTENINGS:
There will be various readings distributed via the course web site throughout the semester that will supplement the course content. These readings and listenings will be discussed in class. Students are expected to have any reading and/or listenings completed before the next class meeting.

III. PARTICIPATION:
Participation during class discussions and critiques is critical. This is where a great deal of learning can occur. As an artist, you should be able to talk about your work and the work of your peers. The ability to give feedback is important. ie: what’s working, what’s not working etc. The point of a critique is not to tear someone down or make them feel bad. It is to help you become a better artist through discussion and analysis of your work while examining its strengths and weaknesses.

IV. ATTENDANCE:
Students are expected to attend all meetings of each class in which they are enrolled and engage in the work of the course in its entirety. They are expected to be ready to start work at the opening of class and to remain for the entire class session. Students who miss more than 20% of the semester’s engagements (or the equivalent 3 out of the 15 standard class meetings) will earn a failing grade.

GRADING:
CLASS PROJECTS: (Projects 1, 2, 3) – 75%
FINAL PROJECT – 20%
PARTICIPATION – 5%

GRADING GUIDLINES:
A 93-100%
A- 0-92.9%
B+ 87-89.9%
B 83-86.9%
B- 80-82.9%
C+ 77-79.9%
C 73-86.9%
C- 70-72.9%
D+ 67-69.9%
D 63-66.9%
D- 60-62.9%
F 0-59.9%

CONTACTING YOUR PROFESSOR:
I will be available for real-time questions on Wednesdays 1pm – 2pm EST [-5GMT] via Zoom. I will email the class the Meeting ID and Password on Tuesday evenings. All other questions or communication can be directed to jsloan@mica.edu

30-hour window for e-mail: Monday through Friday, I will respond to emails/messages within 24–30 hours (usually much faster, but understand that the window is up to 30 hours). You will know what is due well in advance; it’s your responsibility to stay on schedule and prioritize your time. Don’t wait until the last minute to message me about something that’s due in a few hours or the next day because I may not get back to you in time.

Do not contact me through Facebook, IG, Twitter or other social networking sites for things relating to MICA. All communication through social networks relating to class will be ignored.

MICA ACADEMIC POLICY STATEMENTS –

ACADEMIC DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS
MICA makes reasonable academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. All academic accommodations must be approved through the Learning Resource Center (LRC). Students requesting accommodation should schedule an appointment at the LRC (410-225-2416 or e-mail LRC@mica.edu), located in Bunting 110. It is the student’s responsibility to make an accommodation request in a timely manner. Academic accommodations are not retroactive.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (EHS):
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS): Students are responsible to follow health and safety guidelines relevant to their individual activities, processes, and to review MICA’s Emergency Operations Plan and attend EHS training. Students are required to purchase personal protection equipment appropriate for their major or class. Those students who do not have the proper personal protection equipment will not be permitted to attend class until safe measures and personal protection are in place. **Fall 2020: Students are expected to abide by the MICA Social Contract for Students to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

PLAGIARISM:
Policy: (Updated July 2020)
MICA will not tolerate plagiarism, which is defined as claiming authorship of, or using someone else’s ideas or work without proper acknowledgement. Without proper attribution, a student may NOT replicate another’s work, paraphrase another’s ideas, or appropriate images in a manner that violates the specific rules against plagiarism in 3 the student’s department. In addition, students may not submit the same work for credit in more than one course without the explicit approval of all of the instructors of the courses involved.

Consequences:
When an instructor has evidence that a student has plagiarized work submitted for course credit, the instructor will confront the student and impose penalties that may include failing the course. In the case of a serious violation or repeated infractions from the same student, the instructor will report the infractions to the department chair or program director. Depending on the circumstances of the case, the department chair or program director may then report the student to the appropriate dean or provost, who may choose to impose further penalties, including expulsion.

Appeal Process:
Students who are penalized by an instructor or department for committing plagiarism have the right to appeal the charge and penalties that ensue. Within three weeks of institutional action, the student must submit a letter of appeal to the department chairperson or program director, or relevant dean or provost related to the course for which actions were taken. The academic officer will assign three members of the relevant department/division to serve on a review panel. The panel will meet with the student and the instructor of record and will review all relevant and available materials. The panel will determine whether or not to confirm the charge and penalties. The findings of the panel are final. The panel will notify the instructor, the chairperson, division, the student, and the Office of Academic Affairs of their findings and any recommendations for change in penalties.

TITLE IX NOTIFICATION:
Maryland Institute College of Art seeks to provide an educational environment based on mutual respect that is free from discrimination and harassment. There are multiple ways to report sexual harassment/misconduct/assault and reports are encouraged. Students requiring academic adjustments due to an incident involving sexual harassment or discrimination should contact Student Affairs at 410.225.2422 or Human Resources at 410.225.2363. Keeping with institutional commitments to equity and to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and guidance from the Office for Civil Rights, faculty and staff members are required to report disclosures of gender based discrimination made to them by students. However, nothing in this policy shall abridge academic freedom or MICA’s educational mission. Prohibitions against discrimination and discriminatory harassment do not extend to actions, statements, or written materials that are relevant and appropriately related to course subject matter or academic discussion.

STUDENTS WITH EXTENDED ILLNESS OR LEGITIMATE ABSENCE:
**This includes quarantine for Fall 2020.
In the case of extended illness or other absences that may keep the student from attending a class for more than three meetings, undergraduate students must contact the Student Development Specialist in the Division of Student Affairs or have an official disability accommodation letter issued by the Learning Resource Center that specifically addresses class absences. For students who have not been approved for academic disability accommodations, the Student Development Specialist will work with the student to determine the cause and appropriateness of the absences and subsequently notify instructors as necessary. Graduate students must contact the instructor, director, and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. Students in professional studies programs must contact the Associate Dean for Open Studies. The appropriate administrator will facilitate a conversation with relevant faculty to determine whether the student can achieve satisfactory academic progress, which is ultimately at the sole discretion of the faculty member.