Biography
Keywords
Media Philosophy, Art, Science, Marshall McLuhan
Barry Vacker is a media theorist and mixed-artist whose works span the intersection of art, film, media, science, technology, and philosophy. Author of numerous books and articles, Vacker’s recent books include the third edition of Media Environments (2019) and Black Mirror and Critical Media Theory (2018). Vacker’s art and creative works twice received an international award: the 2010 and 2019 John Culkin Award from the Media Ecology Association. Entitled “Media(s)cene,” Vacker’s recent large-scale art installation was featured during the 2019 Media Ecology Convention at the University of Toronto and he gave a lecture about this art and writings at the 2019 Festival Internacionale de Arte Contemporaneo in Leon, Mexico.
Vacker’s TV and radio interviews include talking with Anderson Cooper about the The Matrix and Studio 360/Public Radio International about 2001: A Space Odyssey. Barry is co-founder of the annual Temple-Arcosanti program, where students travel to the eco-city in Arizona to study media, ecology, and technology. He also enjoys teaching large lecture courses with 200+ students, especially Media and Society.
Education
|
Degree |
Field |
School |
|---|---|---|
|
PhD |
Communications |
The University of Texas at Austin |
Courses Taught
|
Number |
Name |
Level |
|---|---|---|
|
KLN 3386 |
Diamond Peer Teachers - Internship II |
Undergraduate |
|
MSP 1021 |
Introduction to Media Analysis |
Undergraduate |
|
MSP 1021 |
Media and Society |
Undergraduate |
|
MSP 3421 |
Technology and Culture |
Undergraduate |
|
MSP 3445 |
Media Images and Analysis |
Undergraduate |
|
MSP 4153 |
Media Criticism |
Undergraduate |
|
MSP 5042 |
Media Technology and Culture |
Graduate |
Publications
Recent books
Media Environments (3rd Ed.), Cognella Academic Press 2019.
Black Mirror and Critical Media Theory, Co-edited with Angela Cirucci, Lexington Books 2018.
Recent articles
Barry Vacker, “Naked into the Cosmos: Future Shock in Space,” After Shock: The World’s Foremost Futurists Reflect on 50 Years of Future Shock—And Look Ahead to the Next 50, John Shroeter ed. (Abundant World Institute 2020).
Barry Vacker and Erin Espelie, “Black Mirrors, Hot Media, and Spectral Existence,” Black Mirror and Critical Media Theory, Angela Cirucci and Barry Vacker, eds. (Lexington Books 2018).
Personal Website
https://temple.academia.edu/BarryVacker
Presentations
“Spiral Vanishing Points: Art and Media at the Ends of the World,” talk given at the 2019 Festival Internacionale de Arte Contemporaneo in Leon, Mexico.
“2001: Its Philosophical Legacy 4 Million Years Later,” Lecture given at the University of Colorado-Boulder, February 8, 2018.
“Hot and Cool in the Media(s)cene.” 2018 Media Ecology Association Annual Convention, University of Maine.
Awards
The 2019 John Culkin Award for Outstanding Praxis in the Field of Media Ecology. Awarded by the Media Ecology Association. Shared with Julia Hildebrand (Eckerd College) for the essay and art project entitled “Hot and Cool in the Media(s)cene.”
The 2010 John Culkin Award for Outstanding Praxis in the Field of Media Ecology. Awarded by the Media Ecology Association. For the experimental film Space Times Square, which screened at numerous festivals around the world.
Other Projects
Space Times Square video >> link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8koY3AJ3C8I