<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Dear IDCers,</FONT><DIV><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Thanks so much to Rachel Beth, Geoff, Joel, Kevin, Patrick, and Andrea for their recent posts to this thread. It seems that we are wrestling with some pretty difficult questions...here is a recap for folks who might want to add to the discussion:</FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></FONT></DIV><DIV style="text-indent: -52px;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 52px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><B>Rachel Beth's question:</B> </FONT><I><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">How do "digital media" departments situate themselves in a place of their own without closing themselves off? <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV><DIV style="text-indent: -52px;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 52px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></FONT></DIV><DIV>One way to avoid departmental isolation is to build community outside. I really believe that the answer to this isolation problem comes from building bridges---sometimes beyond the institution. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Geoff Thomas’s description of a collaborative Second Life project at Georgia Tech using resources from a Ken Perlin's NYU class is one example. Another is the idea of building a network of digital artists within one’s own city instead of within the university. </DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Another great example of community building comes from Upgrade! International. For folks who might not know, The Upgrade (<A href="http://treasurecrumbs.com/theupgrade/">http://treasurecrumbs.com/theupgrade/</A>) was founded by artist Yael Kanarek in NYC in the late 90’s as a monthly meeting where media artists could bond, show work, and eat pizza. The program was wildly popular and non-institutional for the most part, and now has expanded to include 22 international “salons” from Skopjie to Wellington.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>We started the Chicago Upgrade about a year and a half ago, and it’s an been incredible experience. We are nomads and meet monthly in either a restaurant, artist’s studio, nonprofit space, wherever! For our graduate students who attend, it’s an opportunity to network and learn what goes on beyond the walls of academia. For academics, it’s a great time to chat over some of the very same questions we are dealing with here on IDC, but in person….usually over cocktails. The shared conversations help all of us to identify and sometimes confront similar kinds of isolation issues.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV style="text-indent: -52px;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 52px; "><I><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><B>Kevin's question</B>: </SPAN>Has anyone else struggled with how to prepare students in terms of post-educational or professional practice? </FONT></I></DIV><P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><SPAN style=""><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Kevin asks a tough question: ethically, are we as academics responsible at all for our students’ future job prospects? In terms of professional practice, graduate students in my department are hungry for workshops and information—they need rewarding work or jobs that will help them pay off enormous student loans.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">As a faculty member, it’s often difficult to watch students accumulating ever-increasing amounts of debt, work 4 different jobs, and come to class exhausted and without homework because their schedules are too full to allow time for study.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">In the case of our foreign students, many will pursue work outside their area of interests post-graduation simply to remain in the USA.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P><P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><SPAN style=""><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">A December 24, 2006 NYT article, recounts the rags-to-riches story of Elaine Ward, a former ceramicist and glassblower, who was unable to support herself after graduating from the University of Minnesota with a BFA.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Ms. Ward dove headfirst into the male-dominated world of plumbing to found Isis, now a fabulously successful boutique firm on Long Island.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">One of my most talented students, a gifted kinetic sculptor, worked for nearly half a year after graduation fabricating hundreds of tiny life-like steel chocolate chips (the real ones melt under studio lights).</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">But we’ve all heard countless stories like this: "The odd jobs toughen you up, they prepare you for the life of an artist." Or do they?</FONT></SPAN></P><P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><SPAN style=""><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">SAIC puts fine art and criticism first in the curriculum; we do not offer professional practice courses during the academic year, however, I traditionally run a 2-hour “professional practices workshop” to provide some direction to students attending CAA or the first time and so forth.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">At SAIC, regular individual meetings with a faculty advisor are part of the core curriculum.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">These private tutorials—really key to the grad experience at SAIC—are used by many students to ferret out answers to their questions about gallery representation and the like.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">I do find that the motivated and resourceful students somehow get their questions answered so I worry less about the inclusion of post-educational outcomes in our "fine arts and criticism" directed curriculum.</FONT></SPAN></P><DIV style="text-indent: -52px;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 52px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><B>Andrea's question:</B> </FONT><I><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Perhaps we can develop "some more precise definitions of programs, clarifying courses in 'digital art' versus 'digital media' versus 'new media', versus 'computer graphics' etc.?" Defining these terms could help faculty developing new programs at institutions. </FONT></I></DIV><P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><SPAN style=""><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Yes, attempting to define programs is a challenge---it is an even greater challenge when your department might be competing for the attention of talented prospective graduate students applying to multiple "media" departments in the same institution.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Here are program titles at SAIC for all the departments that deal with aesthetics, digital tools, criticism and often with technology: Art and Technology Studies; Film, Video, New Media; Design for Emerging Technologies; Designed Objects; Visual Communication.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">All of these areas boast excellent faculty and curriculum---but how is a student to choose?</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">At the ever-popular US News and World Reports site, the listings of “categories” for graduate MFA programs includes only the following:</FONT></SPAN></P><DIV class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style=""><SPAN style="mso-tab-count:1"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Ceramics</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></DIV><DIV class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="color: black; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Graphic Arts</FONT></SPAN></DIV><DIV class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="color: black; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Industrial Design</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><O:P></O:P></FONT></SPAN></DIV><DIV class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style=""><SPAN style="mso-tab-count:1"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><I>Multimedia/Visual Communications</I></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><O:P></O:P></FONT></SPAN></DIV><DIV class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style=""><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Painting/Drawing</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><O:P></O:P></FONT></SPAN></DIV><DIV class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style=""><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Photography</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><O:P></O:P></FONT></SPAN></DIV><DIV class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style=""><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Printmaking</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><SPAN style=""></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV><DIV class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="color: black; "><SPAN style="; text-indent: 48px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Sculpture</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></DIV><DIV class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;"><SPAN style=""><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><O:P></O:P></FONT></SPAN></DIV><DIV class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style=""><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">One might ask, where is</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> video--multimedia?</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> Apparently, digital media and media art are lumped under the Multimedia category as well. This question of where the digital arts might wind up in 10 years is complex. Will there be a <I>Multimedia</I> category in 2017?</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></DIV><DIV><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><BR></FONT></DIV><DIV>Many thanks for making this discussion such a pleasure. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Cheers, Tiff</DIV><DIV style="text-indent: -52px;"><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -khtml-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -khtml-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -khtml-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -khtml-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -khtml-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -khtml-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; -khtml-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -khtml-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">____________________________________</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Tiffany Holmes, Associate Professor</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Chair, Department of Art and Technology Studies</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">The School of the Art Institute of Chicago</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">112 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60603</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Phone: 312-345-3760, Fax: 312-345-3565</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Mobile: 312-493-0302</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><A href="http://www.tiffanyholmes.com">http://www.tiffanyholmes.com</A></FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><A href="http://ecoviz.org">http://ecoviz.org</A></FONT></DIV><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </FONT></DIV><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>