<!-- prepare for CIA seminar in Aug 2020 -->
### Critical Technical-Art Practice <br>(Winnie+Pablo)
<br>
CTP
(Agre 1997; Dourish, Finlay, Sengers, Wright 2004; Dieter 2014; Harwood 2019; Soon & Cox forthcoming)
<br>
> A critical technical practice will, at least for the foreseeable future, require a split identity — one foot planted in the craft work of design and the other foot planted in the reflexive work of critique (Agre, 1997)
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list of names + ref year
1) missing gaps / lack of methodologies that articulate technical objects and sociocultural aspects
2) looking at technical level
-->
---
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#### WIP
- 2 courses (bachelor level) in Dept of Digital Design & Information Studies:
- Aesthetic Programming
- Data Studies
- Continuous experimentation - (de)constructing
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1) how we enact the challenge and address this gap in practice/classroom
2) responding to 'digitalization'/pervasiveness of technologies -> new curriculum/thinking, but beyond digital literacy (instrumental level)
-->
---
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#### APIs in Aesthetic Programming
<img src="https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/raw/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData/ch8_1.png" height="300">
<img src="https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/raw/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData/ch8_2.gif" height="300">
- Introducing the art example: [net.art generator](https://nag.iap.de/) (1997) by Cornelia Sollfrank
- Using Google image search API
- query e.g the search keywords
- other parameters and processes
<!-- situate nag as a critical art practice that question authorship and technopolitics -->
<!-- More details: https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/tree/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData -->
---
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#### APIs in Aesthetic Programming (cont')
<img src="https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/raw/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData/ch8_5.png" height="150">
```javascript
https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1?key=APIKEY&cx=SEARCHID&imgSize=medium&searchType=image&q=warhol+flowers
```
To study:
1. Tinkering: to process inputs and to generate an image output (the collage of images)
2. Accessing: Understanding the logic of request and response + step-by-step processes
3. Que(e)ring: Questioning the openness, accessibility and manipulation of data
<!-- challeges
1. dealing with different scales
2. assemblages of data - format of data, accessibilty and configuration, terms and conditions, coding aspect, algorithm in prioritization/configuratio
3. not a standardized practice, and requires time to look into different APIs and data structures. (how to apply to other API context)
-->
---
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#### Web & APIs in Data Studies
Data collection: Same sources, different data? Same data, different sources?
a) Instagrab (https://github.com/pwikstrom/instagrab) <!-- by Patrik Wikstrom -->
* python script / web scraper
* does not use an API
``` python
print("\nLaunching browser")
my_options = webdriver.ChromeOptions()
the_drive = webdriver.Chrome(options=my_options)
for the_tag in instagrab_config["tags"]:
if isinstance(the_tag,str) and len(the_tag)>0:
new_shortcodes += scrape_tag(the_drive, the_timeline, the_tag, instagrab_config)
print("\nClosing browser\n")
the_drive.quit()
```
b) VosonSML, TCAT, etc. (https://github.com/vosonlab/vosonSML)
* API-based / R (but language agnostic)
``` r
# twitter authentication creates an access token as part of the auth object
twitterAuth <- Authenticate("twitter",
appName = "My App",
apiKey = "xxxxxxxxxxxx",
apiSecret = "xxxxxxxxxxxx",
accessToken = "xxxxxxxxxxxx",
accessTokenSecret = "xxxxxxxxxxxx")
```
---
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#### Web & APIs in Data Studies (cont.)
**Old and new regimes:** <!-- pre-app times -->
* Platforms as markets + modular technological architectures (Gawer 2014; Rieder & Sire 2014) <!-- platforms as both market enablers and technological architectures-->
* Platform-ready websites (Helmond 2015)
* "Security" vs "Freedom" false dilemma (LeGuin 1982) <!-- gatekeeping / standarisation -->
**Pedagogic challenges:**
1. Unstable/uneven surfaces <!-- this applies to coding -->
2. Circumventing legal frameworks <!-- ethics for whom? equity -->
3. CTP: *split identities* <!-- learning with and against structures -->
---
#### Thoughts...
1) Interested in how-to's as an educator
2) AP + DS open up one of many ways to perform (among others)
3) What might be your own challenges, not only as researchers/artists, but as educators?
4) What's the role of practice?
<!-- Not forming programmers (STEM approach, or even DH): how to make it culturally (and personally) relevant. Different approach in a critical humanistic setting. Thus, WIP.-->
<!-- notes
## Notes
- What from CTP? as of Agre + others
- WIP: Work in progress + reflexive experimentation as part of CTP -> continuous questioning of the materials that they are using (regardless of the point of origin: social, performative, etc)
- Pedagogical focus -> Why technical-art?
- 2 courses: DS and AP
- **The challenge** is how to find a balance, not only as researchers but as educators, unfolding aspects of both formality and functionality as well as questioning and understanding technology at a discursive and critical level.
*slides:*
- intro + situated in the pedagogical environment
> "A critical technical practice will, at least for the foreseeable future, require a split identity — one foot planted in the craft work of design and the other foot planted in the reflexive work of critique." (Agre, "Toward a Critical Technical Practice")
- WIP: continous experimentation
- challenge 1 - around API (https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/tree/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData)
- challenge 2 - around API (data translation: API vs webscraping)
- discussion: epistemological insights on how things work (technically), practically // also: different kinds of knowledge: technical and conceptual (logic): *in and beyond* data (a **critical** approach)
-->
---
## notes for writing the CTP paper
- 2000 words
- what's criticality, how does this enact in both courses
- the courses also as a methodology, approach
- focus on datasets + web scraping (pablo) API + machine learning models (winnie)
- start with APIs (winnie), datasets (pablo)
- enable forms of questioning
- how they do work in progress, and reflexive exploration
- critical -> other forms of usefulness (normative usage)
- can bring in students' work/ex
Here is the call: https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/Convergence_Special%20Issue_CTP%20in%20Digital%20Research.pdf
Our previous CTP presentation: https://hackmd.io/K0ZfGPpySSeAc3Iu4CF3gA
Our abstract: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FtF0idZxfSOiB8aptdHJx8F_kO5hRCXfgc-tZ0DTzDg/edit
Soon's article: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P5ZPU8NnWOAKZ-UsQq5O8NvSB05Nkhfn95LRGZ9quYg/edit
Submission guidelines: https://journals.sagepub.com/author-instructions/CON
around 8000 words
ref style - Harvard: https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/sage_harvard_reference_style_0.pdf?_gl=1*i0adtz*_ga*MTg4MzI5OTE4Ni4xNjA3NTIwMzc3*_ga_60R758KFDG*MTYxNzk2MjE5OS4xLjEuMTYxNzk2MjQ3MC4w
Deadline for the full journal: 2 Aug 2021
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