MA graduate | Experimental Digital Media
The Experimental Digital Media (XDM) MA equips students with the skills to support deep reading and critical analysis, while also offering an understanding of ethical approaches to technology in culture. These skills benefit individuals looking to work in communication design and to build expertise in the rapidly evolving field of communications.
In the course, students looked at philosophical and literary movements in the 20th century that aimed to reinvent looking at art or objects themselves. This course implored students to re-evaluate their stance on agency, artistry, and the power of everyday things. To convey this, Andy created a “Cornell box”, using his grandmother's old breadbox to display a jewelry case, other found objects, and a book of short poems she had transcribed. Like Edith Wharton in Tender Buttons, Andy aimed to cherish the poetic resonance of everyday objects. While he could only imagine what these things meant in her life, he reflected on how the objects somehow arrived to be in an artistic display, submitted in a classroom environment, for evaluation.
When enrolled in the program, Andy immersed himself in the program culture. He attended Digital Wednesdays, workshops hosted at the Critical Media Lab for XDM students and others. During these workshops, students participate in digital media tutorials, including programming an Arduino hardware kit to move a robot arm, scraping data off of Twitter, and making glitch art. These workshops also offer students the freedom to work on digital projects that interest them, while utilizing peer feedback to contribute to overall project creation, creating a positive support system for digital projects.
Andy landed an eight-month co-op placement at Blackberry, where he held the role of Communications Specialist for Secusmart. In this role, he writes and edits product documentation, administration guides and troubleshooting manuals for customers. Reflecting on his co-op experience, Andy says “Co-op is a low-risk way to gain good employment experience while making money. Why wouldn't I seize the chance to try work in another industry? I haven’t decided on a career path, so this allows me to explore my options.”
Many of the skills Andy has spent years developing while studying English have been put into practice in his new role. “Part of what I love about English is teaching people about writing and what makes communication effective. I really love editing, and having worked at it for years academically, it’s great to put into practice professionally.”
In the proposal stage of his major research project, Andy knew he would analyze fitness culture. He says “I intend to explore how our relationship with fitness is similar to our relationship with technology.” Andy is in the process of collaborating on a grassroots literary publication that develops emerging, underrepresented writers from the Kitchener-Waterloo region. He hopes that this project will help diverse voices to re-imagine the city while contributing to the local literary scene.