PROTEST From Latin pro-testari, 'affirm, bear witness to' (testis = witness, as in 'testify'), a pro-active testifying to a wrong in order to bring about a change for the better. Developed in the context of recent anti-'globalization' protest, this workshop will involve practical and theoretical examination of design as a response to the needs of those asserting their communicative rights in public space. Much of this activity is archived at www.indymedia.org and www. protest.net).

Acts of civil protest, despite constitutional protection in many societies, are all too often confronted with unprovoked violent actions on the part of police and paramilitary forces. These protests are unfortunately not free of violent tendencies of their own which need to be controlled and channeled by the protesters themselves. How can art and design, operating physically and on-line, within the fields of industrial design, digital communications, wearable media, defensive fashion, performance, sound, music, and journalism, help sustain the non-violent public presence of the protesters and effectively convey their message? Specifically, how can art and design provide demonstrators with the means to create counterpoints to preconceived images of their violent tendencies by authorities; help demonstrators create peaceful solidarity, amongst themselves and with others, against the dangers of panic, anger, over-reaction, and infiltration; propose means of protection, through efficient and effective armor for shielding demonstrators' bodies and minds against physical and psychological trauma caused by excessive force; deflect and disarm, through visual, gestural, acoustic, or other means, the violent tendencies of the forces of public order and law-enforcement; provide a means of recording, live transmission, and global dissemination of the demonstrators' point of view; engage monuments, architecture, facades, and edifices in such protest; and conceive a concrete role for 'hacktivism', on-line and direct, cyber civil disobedience for all the above purposes.

In the course of the semester, students will explore and discuss both the practical aspects and the theoretical literature on art/design/technology in protest.

For more information on Krzysztof Wodiczko and his Interrogative Design Group at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies go to www.interrogative.org.