Dear Carma, Rosan,

while reading Carmas ideas about the UCI curriculum i recognised that
some of your (Carmas) ideals might be quite contradictory to those of
Rosans'. :)

Also you (and I) agree to Rosans' suggestions,

<snip>
1 has respect and appreciation for the tradition of design practice:
skills
and knowledge
2 is willing to accept that the design field can potentially be
strengthened
by different points of view and that the view he/she holds is just but
one
3 is familiar with other points of view on design.
4 is willing to include these points of view in the teaching
5 is willing to explore with the students how the students might develop
their points of view
6 doesn't fail the students because they think otherwise
7 admits when not knowing something and refers the students to someone
who
may know
</snip>

I wish this wasn't so unrealistic. Someone who is really good in a
field will not accept other ways "how things can be done". Of course,
if s/he is really good, s/he is aware of these other ways/methods but
has his (or hers) good reasons why they are "the best". That's why s/he
has become so knowledgeable.
I suspect they would point out rather the weaknesses of other ways,
then their strengths.

A more realistic, and desirable scenario, might be to have a wide
variety of persons from different backgrounds (as you suggest, Carma) -
that are very convinced of their own methods - and who would let the
students recognise that there is no "true way" but are perhaps
encouraged to discover their own. Develop their own talents and skills.

Only when they have personalities as tutors that truly LIVE what they
teach students will develop the same desire and relationship towards
their work. Why should professors agree and accept methods they
probably have tested and that haven't worked for them? Of course people
are tolerant, but when it comes to their own expertise they might not
be willing to make compromises. However, i think this is a bug in
Rosans' (ideal) vision :)

<snip>
I think it would be
great to have at least one person who is a die-hard promoter of the
importance of drawing (or whatever), and one person who thinks it
needn't be
taught at all. It would make faculty meetings and curriculum-building
harder, but it would allow students to choose for an adviser a professor
whose approach is congenial, while also studying with other professors
whose
ideas are radically different.
</snip>

 From my experience the early years in a school are the most exciting
ones, when everything is still flexible and new.
Also when there is more administrative work to be done ...

In Cologne, as far as I now, when the Cologne School of Design was
founded in the late eighties, Prof. Erlhoff and the few other
Professors where sitting together on the very first day with the first
year students and asked them: "What do YOU want to learn? Whom should
we hire?"

Maybe this is something to consider in a fast moving world?

IMHO,

greetings from Sheffield,

Michael


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Michael Hohl, PhD Research Student

Sheffield Hallam University
School of Cultural Studies
Art & Design Research Centre
Psalter Lane Campus
Sheffield, S11 8UZ
United Kingdom

phone: +44.114.225.2647
fax: +44.114.225.2603
email: [log in to unmask]
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