Energy! A New School Moment

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Join The New School’s stellar faculty for another edition of “A New School Moment” 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 humans. 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 presentations, the speakers examine the potential consequences 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 from across The New School analyze various notions of energy, drawing from their expertise in the political and 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. Jamie Kruse, whose artwork Thingness of Energy is currently on view the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, opens the forum,  moderated by Edward Keller, designer, musician, associate dean of Distributed Learning and Technology, associate professor, School of Design Strategies, Parsons The New School for Design.

Participants include:

• Jonathan Bach, chair of Undergraduate Global Studies and associate professor, International Affairs, New School for Public Engagement
• Liz Barry, director, Urban Environment, The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, part-time faculty, Parsons The New School for Design (SCE, SDS)
• Jacalyn Brookner, artist,  Fine Arts Program, Parsons The New School for Design
• Georgina Drew, anthropologist, Post-Doctorate Fellow, India China Institute, The New School
• Jamie Kruse, artist and independent scholar
• Alan H. McGowan, associate professor, Interdisciplinary Science, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Eugene Lang College
• Arthur Ou, artist, director, BFA Photography, and assistant professor, School of Art, Media, and Technology, Parsons The New School for Design
• David White, assistant professor, Environmental Technology & Material Sciences, School of Constructed Environments, Parsons The New School of Design
• Rafi Youatt, assistant professor, Politics, The New School for Social Research

*    *   *

An interdivisional encounter, organized by the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, on occasion of its 2011-2013 focus theme “Thingness,” and with the support of the Office of Sustainability and The Green Fund.

Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor

Admission:
Free; no tickets or reservations required; seating is first-come first-served