A Presidential Dream Course
Spring 2009 – The University of Oklahoma
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is
everything. What we think we become.” – Buddha
Course Description:
This course is being co-taught with Andrew Fagg’s Embedded systems class. Together, these two classes form the Sm[Art] Spaces Presidential Dream Course. The Sm[Art] Spaces course will bridge the perceived traditional boundaries that divide the sciences and engineering from arts and humanities. Bringing together students from computer science, engineering, and the arts, this course will explore theories of mind and body utilizing a range of perspectives, including artificial intelligence, art, neuroscience, robotics, spirituality and psychology. Expert guest speakers will help to facilitate this investigation by creating a stimulating backdrop.
The fine arts model will be used as a “test bed” of creative exploration to learn about the use of embedded computing devices/electronics in our environment. In particular, we will learn the fundamentals of designing, constructing and programming embedded devices and explore the technological, social, spiritual and artistic implications of distributing such interactive devices throughout our environments. Through this collaborative effort, we will investigate new paradigms of creative practice that will be manifested in a set of interdisciplinary group projects.