< ECU Directory

Benjamin James

Sessional Faculty

Availability:

Education:

Doctorate, Digital Arts (Arts & Humanities Research Council Funded)
University of Sunderland, UK
MA, Digital Arts
Camberwell College of Arts / Central Saint Martins, UK
PGCHE
Falmouth University, UK
BSc, Economics and Anthropogeography
London School of Economics, UK

Bio

Ben is a designer-researcher whose work explores ways that technologies construct knowledge and produce power. As an interdisciplinary researcher, he draws upon technological cultures, media philosophy and histories of design. Committed to practices that engage publics directly, his work moves between designed artefacts, curatorial projects, films and written works.

Websites:

Research Interests

Ben’s research examines how digital systems shape our politics and relations to one another. It takes form principally through two interconnected contexts: Model Room, the design studio he co-founded, and his curatorial work. At Model Room, he uses 3D simulation, game engines and architectural practice to develop immersive installations, sensor-mediated environments, speculative interfaces and digital models of real-world systems. Working both independently and with artists, researchers and curators, he has developed works for institutions including Akademie der Künste (Berlin), ACCA (Melbourne), Serpentine Galleries (London) and MoMA (New York). In his curatorial work, Ben has collaborated extensively with transmediale festival in Berlin, working at the intersection of design, curation and critical theory to develop artistic projects that explore the cultural and political dimensions of contemporary technology.

Thesis Supervision

Supervised Programs:

Courses

Course Name Department Course Code Term
Graduate Studies Design GSMD 510 27/SP

Description

This intensive studio brings together research and theory with a rigorous studio practice. The objective of the course is to focus a thesis direction through exploration, ideation, and experimentation within a subject area. This includes serial imaging, reinterpretation of assumptions, and regular in-class critiques of the tangible outcomes of design. In conjunction with Design Methods II, students will articulate a clear proposal for a thesis project. This proposal will be reviewed by their supervisor and with approval, will form the basis for their Research Ethics application. It will include a formal research plan to be instituted over the summer, and a clear direction for design and implementation in the fall semester.

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.

Graduate Studies Design GSMD 550 27/SP

Description

This directed studies topics module/studio is intended to support first year Master of Design students working on self-directed projects and contribute to early stage development of their graduate studies thesis prior to Advancement Review. The course will support students designing for research or professional leadership contexts. Within the course, students may work on interdisciplinary industry and research-sponsored projects, or personal projects that consider how design can explore and address social based concerns, and take on innovative material practice challenges. A focus will be placed on developing: skills, design research methodologies, salient community engagement. The course will provide a forum for critical design-focused conversations, guest critiques, and collaboration amongst interdisciplinary students working on related projects. Students in this course will be expected to be self-directed and will begin by establishing their own project and specific learning objectives within the course.

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.

Graduate Studies Design GSMD 650 26/FA

Description

This directed studies topics module/studio is intended to support Master of Design students working on self-directed projects and contribute to thesis refinement and direction prior to Candidacy Review. The course will support students designing for research or professional leadership contexts. Within the course, students may work on interdisciplinary industry and research-sponsored projects, or personal projects that consider how design can explore and address social based concerns, and take on innovative material practice challenges. A focus will be placed on developing: skills, design research methodologies, salient community engagement. The course will provide a forum for critical design-focused conversations, guest critiques, and collaboration amongst interdisciplinary students working on related projects. Students in this course will be expected to be self-directed and will begin by establishing their own project and specific learning objectives within the course.

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.