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Recommended Readings
Aicher, Otl. Analogous and Digital.Here is a mid 20th century designer who confronts the rationality and irrationality of digital and abstract creativity. Aiello, Rita; Sloboda, John A. Musical Perceptions. An important treatise on our cognition of music and the psychology of hearing and listening. Of particular note is the chapter "On Emotion and Meaning." Bailey, James. After Thought: The Computer Challenge to Human Intelligence. Describes how computers may re-shape the way we think and how we educate ourselves. Baldwin, J. Bucky Works: Buckminster Fuller's Ideas for Today. A fine introduction to the work of this important thinker. Barnett, Jo Ellen. Time's Pendulum. A comprehensive overview of the technologies of timekeeping. Barrow, John D. The Artful Universe. Explores the relationship between natural phenomena, mathematics, and art. Of particular interest is the chapter "The Natural History of Noise, " which explores the relationship of music, pattern, and language. Barthes, Roland. Empire of Signs. Hilland Wang. Obsessed with the signage of Japan, Barthes explores the relationship between word, image, and symbol in that culture. Along with Barthes' Camera Lucida and Mythologies are important to the understanding of representation in the post 20th century culture. Barzan, Jacques. The Culture We Deserve. An important essay on the failure of our contemporary culture. He is to be noted for his condemnation of our mindless adoration of those artists who have corrupted their craft. Baudrillard, Jean. America. Explores the phenomena of the unreal in a fast-food society. Benedikt, Michael. Cyberspace: First Steps. An introduction to the field of cyberspace at its inception. The essay "The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat" has a good discussion of community online. Bolter, Jay David. Turing's Man. A discussion of the computer in contemporary society, it has a particularly good description of the technical workings of the computer. Bolter, Jay David. Writing Space. Describes the ways in which the computer may change the practice of writing, through the re-organization of words and ideas. Borges, Jorge Luis. Labyrinths Many wonderful stories: The Garden of Forking Paths anticipates hypertext and questions space and time. The Circular Ruins describes the process of creation. The Library of Babel provides a parable for the Web. Calvino, Italo. Six Memos for the Next Millennium. A personal meditation upon the art of living and writing. It explores the subjects of lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, and multiplicity as key elements of our life. Campbell, Joseph. The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology. Describes the relation between belief systems and human behavior, focusing on myth. Campbell-Kelly, Martin; Aspray, William. Computer: A History of the Information Machine. A good history of the computer, from the conception of information processing in the nineteenth century to the present. Carter, Rita. Mapping the Mind. Compelling descriptions and graphic depictions of the functioning of the human mind. Chernoff, John Miller. African Rhythm and African Sensibility. An overview of West African music and its place in society. Chomsky, Noam, On Language. This book includes Chomsky's most important works and contains some of his best political, linguistic and moral positions. Daston, Lorraine; Park, Katherine. Wonders and the Order of Nature 1150-1750. Good sections dealing with the cabinet of wonder in Europe. De Bary, WM Theodore (ed.). Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings. Writings by the Taoist philosopher, providing philosophical insight. Derrida, Jacques. Of Grammatology. An essential work of this important deconstructionist. Dewey, John. Art as Experience. The pragmatist philosopher Dewey describes his notion that art is a vital part of the society in which it is made. The authors cite his thinking as fundamental to understanding the humanist potential of the computer. Dondis, Donis A. A Primer of Visual Literacy. A dated but nonetheless useful introduction to two-dimensional design. Eglash, Ron. African Fractals. Western culture builds its architecture on the grid. Eglash demonstrates how African architecture draws from fractals in buildings and city planning. Fernando Jr., SH. The New Beats. A history of the Early New York Hip Hop scene. Feynman, Richard P. Six Easy Pieces. This Nobel prize winners six lectures gives a clear explanation of elementary concepts in physics. His clear and insightful thinking make this a book that everyone should read. Francastel, Pierre. Art & Technology in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. A meditation on the intricate relationship between art and technology. A sociological vision of how aesthetics are a function of a mechanized society. Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams This is one of the cornerstones of modern psychoanalysis. Fuller, R Buckminster. Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. Describes the limited resources of the earth, and our responsibility to manage the affairs of our culture. It is even more prophetic today than when written in the 1960s. Gates, Jr., Henry Louis. The Signifying Monkey. Formulates a theory of African-American and African literature, tracing its roots to the oral tradition. Gibson, William. Neuromancer. One of Gibson's best, a classic tale of cyberspace. Giedion, Siegfried. Space, Time and Architecture. Perhaps the 20th century's most important architectural critic. This is most valuable for both students and professionals in the understanding of the development of modern architecture. Gifford, Don. The Farther Shore. A concise and thoughtful view of how media transforms society and how particular media changed the very nature of our senses. Gill, Eric. An Essay on Typography. This work uses typography as a metaphor for aesthetics. Goldberg, RoseLee. Performance Art. A good history of an evolving medium. Guedj, Denis. Numbers; The Universal Language. A concise history of mathematical reasoning and counting. This is but one of a number of books from the Abram's Discovery series which outlines for the inquiring the essentials of important topics. All of these books are concise, pictorial, and useful. Hafner, Katie; Lyon, Matthew. Where Wizards Stay Up Late. An important history of the early days of the Internet. Hall, Edward T. The Hidden Dimension. Along with his book, The Silent Language, the author explores the science of proxemics, how man uses space and its mulitcultural meanings, a seminal book. Haraway, Donna J. Simians, Cyborgs, and Women. An important feminist philosopher of science's treatise on culture, science, and women. Havelock, Eric A. Preface to Plato. A sweeping examination of the nature of orality in Greek epic poetry. Heidegger, Martin. The Question Concerning Technology A difficult but rewarding read on the theories of this controversial philosopher. Of particular interest is the chapter "The Age of World Picture" which deals with the nature of representation and truth. Herz, J. C. Joystick Nation. A good overview of the history of video games and popular entertainment. Houis, Jacques; Mieli, Paola; Stafford, Mark. Being Human. A good reader for understanding the implications of the technological revolution upon our physical and biological well-being. Hurston, Zora Neale. Every Tongue Got to Confess. An important preservation of oral history from America's South. Kelly, Kevin. Out of Control. The editor of Wired Magazine offers insight into the relationships of machine systems, our economy, and biological life. A vision of how things work in the 21st century. Kemeny, John G. Man and the Computer. The writings of a computer visionary, who foresaw the popularization of the computer as far back as forty years ago. Kenseth, Joy. The Age of the Marvelous. A sophisticated compendium to a marvelous exhibition exploring the 16th and 17th century as an age of observation, curiosity, and wonderment. Kern, Stephen. The Culture of Time and Space 1880-1918. An important chronicle of the ways in which the railroad and other technologies of the late nineteenth century changed notions of time and space. Kittler, Friedrich A. Gramaphone, Film, Typewriter. A complicated but deep analysis of the relationship between literacy and technology. Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. One of the 20th century's most important and celebrated books, you'd better read it! Landow, George P. Hyper/Text/Theory. A good compendium of essays on the theory of a new electronic and writing. See particularly, Stuart Moulthrop, "Rhizome and resistance; hypertext and the dreams of a new culture." Langer, Susanne K. Problems in Art. This is an example Langer's clear and insightful writings on art. Her writing enlightened a generation on the social meaning of art. Ludlow, Peter. High Noon on the Electric Frontier. An important collection of primary sources on issues such as piracy and copyright in the digital age. McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. If you haven't read this book already, read it now. McCafferey, Larry. Storming the Reality Studio: A Casebook of Cyberpunk Fiction. One of the first collections of this important new genre of science fiction. McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. This highly original book, written in the comic book style, explores complicated issues creativity, including time and narrative. McQuillan, Martin, The Narrative Reader. A fine introduction to the canonical texts of the theory of narrative from Plato to Post-Structuralism. Miller, Arthur I. Insights of Genius: Imagery and Creativity in Science and Art. A important discussion of creativity that explores its role in science, art, and technology. It equates the origin of creativity in "seeing" in all of its many forms. This is an exciting and accessible book. Minsky, Marvin. The Society of the Mind. One of the fathers of computer science, gives us a ingenious quippy book of insights into the very workings of our mind. 270 whitty ideas on how we function. Mirzoeff, Nicholas (ed.). The Visual Culture Reader. A good case book of critical writing on visual culture including many important contemporary artists and classic pieces by Marshall McLuhan, Roland Barthes, and others. Mitchell, W.J.T. On Narrative. Certainly one of the best introductions to the study of narrative. Along with Mitchell's books listed here, it is an essential compendium for the understandings of metaphor, imagery, and our needs and reasons to communicate. Moholy-Nagy, Laszlo. Painting, Photography, Film. A must read if one is to understand the education of the modernist creator. Morris, Desmond. Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior. This hip book from the celebrated human behavoralist teaches us how to look for meaning in all of our gestures, movements and unspoken language. Morrison, Toni editor. James Baldwin, Collected Essays. A nice collection of this important American writer. Mumford, Lewis (1963). Technics and Civilization. Harvest, San Diego. A wonderful recounting of the history of technology. Panofsky, Erwin. Perspective as Symbolic Form. A 20th century classic by a great art historian who describes the ways in which visual depiction of three dimensions on a two-dimensional plane reflect cultural values. Pinker, Steven. How the Mind Works. A best seller in cognitive neural science. A clear and meaningful explanation of our metal life. Popper, Frank. Art of the Electronic Age. One of the few books exploring the roots of electronic art. A good introduction to the new media. Rowland, Wade. Spirit of the Web: The Age of Information from Telegraph to Internet. A popular history of the development and possibilities of communications networks. Stafford, Barbara Maria. Good Looking: Essays on the Virtue of Images. A challenge to those who would deride the image. She expounds on the virtues of realization for the new age of the computer. A particular interest is the chapter, New Imagist. Strunk, William; White, E.B. The Elements of Style. If you want to to write clearly, read this perennial classic. Tufte, Edward R, Envisioning Information. This beautiful and rational book by aesthetician is fundamental for all those who seek to organize information through using technology. Turkle, Sherry. Life On The Screen. A classic study by the Harvard sociologist on the ways we communicate through and with computers. Especially interesting writing on MOOs and MUDs Venturi, Robert; Brown, Denise Scott; Izenour, Steven. Learning From Las Vegas. Perhaps the seminal work to the post modern architectural movement. The authors challenge architects to be more receptive to the tastes and values of the common people and less concerned with self-grandising aestheticism. Weschler, Lawrence. Mr. Wilsons Cabinet Of Wonder. A exploration of David Wilson's Museum of Jurassic Technology which stands as a metaphor for our insatiable curiosity and need to collect. The museum explores the line between fact and fiction. Wiener, Norbert. The Human Use of Human Beings. This founder of cybernetics and humanist explores the in this key work the dehumanization inherent in computing as well as its great capacity to relieve us of relentless of repetitiveness and drudgery in our pursuits. |
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