SCI1260 The Intersection of Biology, Art and Technology (IBAT)
This project-based course will encourage participants to cross boundaries between art, biology and technology with hands-on projects inspired by contemporary and historical work in these fields. How might biology inform art practice and how might art inform biology? What role does technology play in advancing or setting back each field and how might art and biology inspire technological breakthroughs? What are the implications of being able to change the genome of an organism? These are just some of the questions we will pursue during this course. Students will conduct a CRISPR genome editing experiment and consider the ethical implications of such work. We will also work with the visualization technologies such as the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Studio work will employ a variety of technologies old and new such as 3D printing in preparation for final student-directed projects that are informed by biology, art and technology. The literature in the area of art and science, particularly with respect to biology has grown considerably and we will delve into a variety of written works, films and video resources, and listen first-hand to practitioners in these areas about the challenges and rewards of interdisciplinary work in fields that most would regard as unrelated. The goal by the end of the course is to acquire an attitude that allows fluid movement from one field to the other in thinking and doing so as to garner creative strength not possible from study of each field alone.
Concurrent Requisites
AHSE2160