M-DAT is distinctive in offering MA (Master of Arts), MSc (Master of Science, only until 2009) or MRes (Master of Research) awards that reflect the trans-disciplinary nature of the programme, the research context of AZTEC (Art, Science, Technology Research consortium, that includes the Planetary Collegium) and enterprise activities of i-DAT (Institute of Digital Art and Technology, Centre of Expertise). All are located since Summer 2009 in the School of Arts and Media in the Faculty of Arts (formerly in the School of Computing, Communications & Electronics, Faculty of Technology, University of Plymouth).
The host context of technology, not arts, is crucial in allowing students and researchers access to technical resources and expertise often unavailable in traditional art and design environments. This challenges many of the orthodoxies of how creative practice might be developed in the context of technological change. At the same time, the focus is not a technical one per se but an applied approach to production alongside critical reflection, designed to enable the development of creative, practical and conceptual skills.
Our concerns are in recognition of considerable changes to the mode of production that take account of the influence of networked informational communications, bio/nano-technologies and immaterial processes. However, we engage with these emergent ideas through an understanding of historical and contextual issues to inform our approach to current and future cultural practices; in particular, concentrating on ‘themes’ (or pathways) that underlie our interests: broadly defined as spatial design, sonic arts, curatorial practice, and software art. These themes are supported by links to outside ‘industrial’ partners and our research activities.
That the programme is available as arts-science-research awards reflects our trans-disciplinary ambitions across the fields of art and technology. The hybrid approach is underpinned by a historical and critical tradition that regards cultural and technological processes as inextricably linked. Adopting this position in relation to emergent and transformational practices allows the programme to respond critically to changes in the mode of production, as well as the pervasive influence of networked informational communications, bio/nano-technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics and neural networks. Exploration of the possibilities and impossibilities of ‘new’ and emergent practices is central to the ethos of the programme.