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 restricting 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? What is art anyway? These are just some of the questions we will pursue during this course. We will begin the course with an investigation of the phenomena of climate change and consider what steps we might take individually and collectively to contribute to the sustainability of the planet. Visualization technologies such as the scanning electron microscope (SEM) will be utilized to observe and create artworks. Final student-designed projects are informed by biology, art and technology and encourage deep exploration and integration of these topics. Laboratory studies will enhance an understanding of biology and its relation to technology as well as providing a possible means to create art. 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
Hours
Notes
Students may take more than one course in the SCI1210 through SCI1299 number sequence, as these courses include a significant amount of non-overlapping content and learning experiences. The first course taken by a student may satisfy the biology foundation Course Requirement, and the second class may earn credit towards the MTH/SCI Distribution
Requirement, and
may also be included in a Bioengineering Plan of Study.