- Taking Things Apart: A Scientific and Artistic Exploration

Institution:

The Evergreen State College

Subject:

Description:

Faculty: Bob Haft (visual art, photography, expressive arts), Donald Morisato (biology) Major areas of study include biology, drawing, history and philosophy of science, literature and photography. Class Standing: This all-level program offers appropriate support for freshmen as well as supporting and encouraging those ready for advanced work. Prerequisites: One year of high school biology or chemistry. Faculty signature required (see below). Faculty Signature: Freshmen who wish to apply must submit a writing sample (either a paper from a literature class or documentation of a major project from a biology or chemistry class). Freshmen must schedule an interview with the faculty in order to obtain a faculty signature. For information, contact Bob Haft, (360) 867-6474 or haftr@evergreen. edu or Donald Morisato, (360) 867-6026 or donaldm@evergreen. edu. Interviews will be held during the Academic Fair, November 28, 2007. Those students who submit their writing sample in advance of the Academic Fair will be given priority. Qualified students will be accepted until the program fills. Both science and art take things apart. In some instances-like the evisceration of a frog or an overly analytical critique of a poem or a piece of visual art-the process can result in the loss of the vital force. But in the best scenario, for both art and science, carefully isolating and understanding the individual parts actually reconstitutes the original object of study, bringing a greater appreciation for the whole that is greater than the parts. And sometimes, taking things apart results in an entire paradigm shift in our consciousness: suddenly, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. In one strand of this program, we will be using a biologist's tool kit and the scientific method to take apart living organisms and to explore how they function. Science relies on making careful observations, formulating predictions, testing hypotheses with experiments, and placing those results within the framework of a conceptual model. We will learn how biology takes apart and studies life at many different levels. In the laboratory, we will examine structures down to the level of individual cells by using microscopes, and even find ways to isolate and visualize the underlying molecules. We will investigate how defects produced by genetic mutations can reveal the function of normal biological processes. Another strand of the program takes visual art as its point of departure. Here, we will work with different sorts of tools-camera and charcoal pencils, for example-both to take things apart, and to construct new things. We will learn the basics of drawing and photography in order to study life at a more macroscopic level than in the biology lab. Ultimately, our goal here is the same as that of the scientist: to reconstitute and reanimate the world around us. By doing so, we hope to enhance our connection with and appreciation of the mysteries of life. Finally, there are some ideas for which literature provides a far more sophisticated and satisfying approach than either science or the visual arts. Thus, in a third strand, we will examine how literature depicts and takes apart that complex set of emotional and behavioral interactions that we call "love." Authors that we may read include Shakespeare, Henry James, Milan Kundera, Nadine Gordimer, John Berger, Haruki Murakami and Louise Glck. Our goal is to weave these three strands together, in the hopes of producing a fabric of understanding about the world that is informed by both cognition and intuition. Total: 16 credits each quarter. Enrollment: 48 Special Expenses: $150 to $200 for art supplies. Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in art, science and the humanities. This program is also listed under Programs for Freshmen and Expressive Arts.

Credits:

16.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.evergreen.edu

Phone Number:

(360) 867-6170

Regional Accreditation:

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Calendar System:

Quarter

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