Forum | Energy!: A Forum

Join stellar faculty as they unravel some of the complexities of a particularly pressing political, cultural or social issue. On March 5, the focus is energy.

Energy comes to us from the earth's deepest crevices to the furthest reaches of the solar system — often through substantial technological advances, sometimes at equally substantial costs to people and the environment. This increasingly complex system of human agency and infrastructures is the topic of this exchange, organized by the Vera List Center for Art and Politics. In brief, succinct presentations, the speakers examine the potential scenarios if energy were to be considered a "partner" in the endeavor of producing and consuming energy. Reflecting recent developments in philosophy, sometimes grouped under the heading of “speculative materialism,” the panelists propose that energy is not dead matter but an active agent that needs to be recognized as such in order to make human life sustainable on this planet.

Faculty members analyze various notions of energy, drawing from their expertise in the political and natural sciences, media studies, environmentalism and design, as well as art. Each will speak for seven minutes and analyze energy from his or her particular professional domain.

Moderator: Edward Keller, Co-founder, AUM Studio, Associate Dean, Distributed Learning and Technology, and Associate Professor, School of Design Strategies. Participants: Jonathan Bach, Chair, Interdisciplinary Global Studies Program, and Associate Professor, International Affairs; Liz Barry, Director of Urban Environment, The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, and part-time faculty, School of Design Strategies, and School of Constructed Environments; Jacalyn Brookner, ecological artist, and part-time faculty, Fine Arts Program; Georgina Drew, anthropologist and Post-Doctorate Fellow, The India China Institute; Jamie Kruse, artist and independent scholar; Alan H. McGowan, Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Science, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Arthur Ou, artist, Director, BFA Photography, and Assistant Professor, School of Art, Media, and Technology; Rafi Youatt, Assistant Professor, Politics.