PrintableSustainable PracticesThe term "sustainability" has been applied to a wide range of issues since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit). These issues fall roughly into three categories: environment and ecology; economic development; and human rights equity. There are massive changes needed in all of these areas. The point of this seminar is to research and discuss how these issues relate to our work in interaction design and digital media production, and to determine how the ITP community can have the most positive impact. In order to limit the scope of our research to something manageable within the semester, we will focus mainly on environmental issues, starting with these central questions: What impact do our practices at work, at home, and in our social lives have on the environment? What changes can we make to lessen the damage we do and increase any positive effects our work has? What skills or ideas do we bring to the table that can have the best effect? How can we use interaction design principles to come up with new practices, ones that are both engaging and healthy for us and our surroundings? What can we change here and now? In the past year, we've seen plenty of press around individual efforts towards a more sustainable world. Important as this is, it can't hold a candle to the impact that larger organizations can have. Changing organizations is a much more difficult process however, and many individuals can't see how their role as part of an organization can contribute to a change in the whole organization's behavior. So how do we change the groups, schools, companies that we're a part of? What power do we have, and how do we exercise it? In looking for answers these questions, we will attempt to address both our practice here at ITP, and the assumptions we take with us into work and life after ITP. We will continue to build an online resource for ourselves and others based on what we learn in the process. This could include reading lists, suggested actions to be taken, links to sources of useful materials and tools for designers and artists, and to organizations whose work overlaps ours. we'll implement what changes we can, and make suggestions on those that will take longer. We'll also come up with a long-term plans for passing on the torch for those longer-term solutions to future classes, and to the administration of ITP, who can see to the continuity of our work, where appropriate. Students will be encouraged to read and research widely on the issues addressed in the class, report on their findings, participate actively in discussions in-class and online, and to begin to take action in their own practices. ScheduleTom's Office Hours:
Check my schedule for updates Please email me to set up an appointment Class 1: Sept. 4
Class 2: Sept. 11
Tom out of town Sept. 18 Class 3: Sept. 25
Class 4: Oct. 2
Class 5: Makeup class: sometime around Oct. 5, but TBA
Class 6: Oct. 9
Class 7: Oct. 16
Class 8: Oct. 23
Class 9: Oct. 30
also make the final presentations as well. Class 10: Nov. 6
Class 11: Nov. 13
Class 12: Nov. 20 TBA Class 13: Nov. 27
Class 14: Dec. 4
AssignmentsAssignments:Grading in this class will be based on the following criteria:
Each week, we'll discuss issues related to changing our practices, at home, at work, throughout the university. We'll also look at a number of models for change and factors to consider in making choices about change. As the semester progresses, our discussions will move from discussion to brainstorming and researching possible solutions, considering roadblocks, and finally to implementing our ideas. ParticipationMost of our in-class time will be spent in discussion, It won't work without your active participation in class, and out of class. I will be providing references for further reading and research, as will your classmates. Make it a habit to follow the various blogs, books, articles, and other references that come up in our discussion, and to offer your own sources of information where you've got them. If a link or reference is mentioned for discussion in the next class, read it in advance. Ask questions via email on the SMIT list, or here in the wiki before class if you want, or let me know that you'd like to dedicate class time to it. I'll add it wherever it's most useful for the whole class. Reports and ResearchOver the course of the semester, you'll gather lots of knowledge about the specific topics that are of interest to you, and ideas for new solutions. Keep a page on this wiki, or a link to your own pages, about what you learn. With every new piece of information, ask yourself what you can do as a result of knowing it. Which of your own patterns will it change? Who do you know who could make most use of the information? If it's not clear how to act on it, how can you make it clear? Your notes should provide fodder not only for your own projects, but for anyone reading you as well. ReadingWe'll be reading a number of articles and chapters of books in this class, to fuel the discussion. Anything that's not online will be handed out in class. Readings are listed one week in advance: the readings from one week are to set the tone for the next week's discussion. These may change as the semester proceeds, depending on the direction of the class. Please check the syllabus schedule for updates, and keep up with the reading. In addition to the assigned reading, you'll find it useful to keep up with some of the more popular blogs on the subject at hand. WorldChanging, Grist, Treehugger, and Sustainable Style are a good start, all of which are agggregated on the Feeds page. If you have others, please add them to the discussion. Class ProjectYou'll be responsible for a semester-long project in this class. You should work in groups of three or more for this project. You may pick your own groups, but anyone not in a group by week 6 will be assigned to one. Your project should focus on an existing practice or behavior, examining its environmental impact, and suggesting ways to change that practice for the better. You can pick a project in the workplace, the home, or daily city life. Ideally, it should be an activity that you or someone you know is involved in. Study the behavior in question, make notes on how it's done, and by whom. Note what goes into it, in terms of materials, energy, and labor, and what comes out of it, in terms of products and wastes. Consider what happens to the products when they're no longer used. Suggest or make changes. Many attempts at changing people's behavior in this realm fail because of two assumptions:
Both of these are often false assumptions. In your work, you should assume the opposite. First, assume that the information is not at hand. Find ways to make it easily available. Second, assume that people are happy with the way they're doing things. Look for ways to make them prefer the alternative. A few sample ideas for projects:
In some cases, the projects will be beyond the time scale or the budget you have to work with. Do not shy away for these reasons. If you can formulate and document a great plan, maybe even write a grant to get it funded or negotiate thrhough the institution to get it approved, you'll have done great work to either pass on to someone else next semester or to take up as a thesis yourself. The key to a good project is that it include a concrete and clear plan for action, and a timetable (and perhaps a budget, if appropriate) for realizing the project's goal. You may work at at a small or a large a scale. There are three milestones laid out in the course schedule for your project:
There may be details missing at this stage. For example, you may not have worked out a budget, or there may be technical knowledge you need in order to go further. Make sure you state what's not known as well. The unknowns are action items. We'll hopefully have some outside guests available for these presentations to provide critique and advice, so plan the presentation accordingly.
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