“The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: 'No room! No room!' they cried out when they saw Alice coming. 'There's plenty of room!' said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.”1The question of how to integrate, add or fold new media into foundations programs has been addressed in multiple papers and panels at various conferences for a few years. Often this leads to a question of time and an acknowledgement that there is not enough time in a first year curriculum for everything that everyone wants to cover. Unfortunately this question also neglects to acknowledge the power dynamic inherent in its asking. The question could more honestly be phrased as “How can new media possibly fit into the existing curriculum, one that we presume must remain?” Instead, we propose considering why new media would be added to or used to augment approaches often rooted in the early 1900s.
Presented @ “Rethinking Foundations: Ideals, Purposes, Needs” @ the 2012 Middle America College Art Association Conference Wayne State University, Detroit MI, Thursday October 4.
Chairs: Lauren Kalman, Wayne State University; Jeffrey Abt, Wayne State University.