fessionally, but also in globally
responsible ways.
So what should these new,
unconstrained outcomes be?
That can’t be answered here, but
perhaps to find an answer it’s
easier to start by defining what
those outcomes should not be.
Hearing these criticisms will be
difficult to those familiar with
or invested in the status quo.
To those skeptical that such an
awareness of social consciousness is possible within the
minds of the next generation,
it may be necessary to remind
them periodically that it is far
less painful to hear and proactively engage new ideas, even if
they are occasionally naive, than
to be forced to reactively engage
the plethora of new threats that
are certainly forthcoming.
miracle is waiting just around
the next corner. Our encouragement of students’ rejection of
the status quo, along with their
ignorance of the “rules,” and
what they should not do, may
provide them with the motivation to create new solutions
and perhaps do what we’ve long
assumed impossible.
Wide-Eyed Ideology
A final point: It’s time to actively
engage students in the conversation. They know that the
current didactic structure is, at
best, deficient in terms of what
it can provide, not just toward
their individual futures, but
their collective ones as well. At
worst, the model is completely
self-serving to the generation
that created it and perpetuates
it. In the field of interaction
design, if such a remaking of
thinking can be done, it is not,
nor will it ever be, done with the
extrinsic objects and things that
we make. It is not about more
object-making; rather, it will be
in how we think about our interactions with each other to better support life and its intrinsic
qualities.
On a micro level, as those
keenly interested in personal
interactions and as consumers
of technology, many students
are painfully aware of the gap
between the curriculum on the
printed catalog page and the
interactions they enjoy in everyday life. On a macro level, students are also painfully aware of
the gap between technology and
its service to their own lifestyles
as they see them extended into
the future. Students are very
cognizant that thinking needs to
turn away from reliance on old
consumerist models based on,
for one thing, ideas of plentiful
energy. Their level of sensitivity to environmental issues is a
priority, but other considerations
should address the problems
with creating new objects for the
sake of being new alone. Being
technology-centric in design for
no reason other than serving
the egos of creators and/or users
undermines the importance of
seeking humane connections
with technology so as to have it
serve us, rather than the other
way around.
Those old dogs in academia
should try to look back to their
own idealism and optimism
about changing the world, even
in the face of what will certainly
be some difficult decision making and, indeed difficult times.
Making a honest commitment
to educational change will not
only allow for a change in values through the dissemination
of new knowledge, but will also
produce a generation of students
prepared to lead the world in
solving the crisis facing, and
built by, humanity.
In other words, we need to
embrace students’ implicit and
sometimes anecdotal understandings of the problems we’ve
created, rather than denying
that these problems exist or
pretending that a technological
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin Conlon earned his
Bachelor of Fine Arts from
the University of South
Alabama and his Master of
Fine Arts from The Ohio
State University. He has been a faculty
member at the Savannah College of Art
and Design since 1996, teaching design,
drawing and sculpture, and has served as
the college’s dean of undergraduate studies since 2004. In addition to his work at the
college, Conlon has also served as a professional consultant in the field of architectural restoration, historic foundry work, and
new media applications in foundation studies; he has presented workshops and
papers at the National Trust for Historic
Preservation and the College Art
Association. Working as a professional artist for almost 25 years, Conlon has recently
completed several commissions. More
information about Conlon and his work can
be found at http://employeepages.scad.
edu/~kconlon/ index.htm.
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March + April 2008
