In January 2012, I began research into the term 'Blackout'.
In February 2012, I led a class called Cover Fire: A Survey of Blackouts through Corvid College.
In September 2012, I presented my research in a talk by the same name at the ISEA conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico as part of programming created by PLAND.
Course and Lecture Description: The word ‘curfew’ reportedly originated from the French word couvre-feu, which translates to ‘cover fire’. Historically, as early as the 11th century in Europe, curfew was enforced through the use of warning bells which signified the time to put out all fires, thereby blacking out out the village. The blackout created a form of security in which it was thought that the inability to see would mean the inability to move, especially on moonless nights.
Pre-industrial night, electrical failure, the bottom of the ocean, global black spots, solitary confinement, and death. In this course, we will explore the blackout as a form, function, and concept. We will begin with blackouts that are most familiar to us, such as rural night or power outages, and then take tangents from there. Also covered will be the devices that prevent or aid a blackout, such as candles, lamps, bells, and alarms.
