Hi Kevin, I think what you wrote and is 'of course', extremely important, and relates to various aspects of what learning actually is and could be, in contrast to traditional forms of institutionally 'supported' frameworks for learning.
I must say here though, that when I have taught I have actively challenged students to critique their own reasons for being at colleges and Universities in the first place, and push for more than 'oh I am here to train for work' answers. The psychology behind relying on certain infrastructures to hold one's life in place becomes problematic - yet, I also think it can be the same the other way round. When one has not been to college there is a temptation not to self-educate. We can all become dominated by a hegemonic orientated media-based culture which directs our gaze from ourselves and friends, and we lose our own presence, meanings etc... Whatever the background in respect of learning - out of university or within it - discipline is the most important ingredient. Pushing oneself to be better than what we already are in various ways - this is the key. Consuming large amounts of knowledge is not enough, being able to evaluate what we consume, why it is there, and how we can use it well, is a plus :-) > My experience is limited to my time as a student in Ireland and > northern Ireland. > I've visited other colleges in the UK for different reasons and I > think I can say with some confidence that they share a common approach > to arts education. Though I'm conscious there are differences I can't > really comment on things in continental Europe, the US and beyond. > I remember one tutor of mine openly questioning how long this model > can last under the pressures of economic rationalization. > I mentioned Middlesex because its current, I don't know a whole lot > about whats happening there other than what Ive read online. Its a bit > of a jump from visual art to philosophy I admit and I'm not sure how > appropriate it is to extend my argument in this way to the humanities > as a whole. One of my most annoying traits is that I have always felt that our culture has been too reliant on institutional frameworks, but now, also systems of social networking environments - regarding their everyday experience. I come from a place where we built our own contexts, formed our own grass roots bands, set up our own pirate radio stations, made our own exhibitions where ever we chose, in the streets or on the Internet (later on), we decided - but there is now whole new generation who have not experienced this kind of 'being'. Used to computers most of their lives from an early age, and used to not building their own grass roots groups. What this means, is a complex thing because we are all learning at different times (hopefully most of the time) and the contemporary art world and similar worlds which incorporate structured environments of learning are usually based around finance mainly, reflecting the needs of corporate culture and government ideologies of the time. This shapes the behaviour around learning. It seems that some of the most progressive, contemporary forms of 'creative' technology influenced, around learning is, coming from the open-source community and games culture, strongly linked to our own media arts culture. Exploiting technology to build alternative ideas, strategies and ways in connecting with others mutually much of the time is, a great way to learn. And many of the ideas and philosophies within these community orientated groups are influenced by a hybrid of different histories, much of it revolutionary and some of it based around libertarian based forms of distribution and production. Yet - I am also aware that capitalism is never that far away, it lingers in the background in this story; and open-source frameworks of discovery, learning and development is based around systems of progress in relation to end production/product as a conclusion. When many people receive their mobile phones, they don't usually care how it got there, only that it has all the latest gadgets. But the story of how all the particular elements within the phone itself becomes what it was, is a fascinating and important history that is not always considered - the journey is part of the source, the knowledge of how things come to be. In fact, we can say the same thing for most things. Which is one reason why we were so interested in exploring alternative ways in taking control of the medium - Zero Dollar Laptop http://www.furtherfield.org/zerodollarlaptop/ is a clear example of us trying to take responsibility for the technology that we are privileged to use. - learning with others what it is that we are using and feeling what it is. I am also very aware that blaming capitalism is not necessarily the only solution, challenging our behaviours is could be a productive way out of the binary trapping of seeing capitalism as the main enemy, we know its crap but it is here and we need to hack our ways around it to grow somehow. This is when exploring outside of the imposed protocols set up by others, frees us to engage in the raw material of life and of course can be challenging in many different ways depending on the situation. So, structured learning yes alright, but we can also be self-disciplined and challenge ourselves to step outside our safe systems of everyday experience, in order to engage in knowing more - and I do not mean knowing as in handed down knowledge alone, I mean the raw stuff that does not always have the answers in books or peer knowledge based platforms or systems. We can get lost by hiding behind 'official' forms of learning and then realise that we are no longer connected, or earthed. Having said this, I know that there are plenty of users on this list who feel similar and are practising, researching and teaching within institutional environments, doing wonders - I just hope that there are enough of these excellent individuals out there, to pass the nourishment around. > Certainly the economic situation has intensified this process. Here in > Ireland many art colleges no longer have funding for visiting > lecturers. Twice in the past few weeks Ive been told of students > organizing talks outside of college for exactly this reason. Its nice > to see students proactive but its not necessarily for the right > reasons. I think students self-organising is great, it can teach them so much stuff and help them understand how to build their own resources - being less reliant on structures etc.. I'm not sure if I answered your questions so will try to get back to it again :-) wishing you well. marc > Hey Marc, > > Have you any thoughts on the article? > My experience is limited to my time as a student in Ireland and > northern Ireland. > I've visited other colleges in the UK for different reasons and I > think I can say with some confidence that they share a common approach > to arts education. Though I'm conscious there are differences I can't > really comment on things in continental Europe, the US and beyond. > I remember one tutor of mine openly questioning how long this model > can last under the pressures of economic rationalization. > I mentioned Middlesex because its current, I dont know a whole lot > about whats happening there other than what Ive read online. Its a bit > of a jump from visual art to philosophy I admit and I'm not sure how > appropriate it is to extend my argument in this way to the humanities > as a whole. > Certainly the economic situation has intensified this process. Here in > Ireland many art colleges no longer have funding for visiting > lecturers. Twice in the past few weeks Ive been told of students > organizing talks outside of college for exactly this reason. Its nice > to see students proactive but its not necessarily for the right > reasons. > > Kevin > > > > On 16 May 2010 00:39, marc garrett <[email protected]> wrote: >> A brief history of P2P education in the visual arts. >> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/a-brief-history-of-p2p-education-in-the-visual-arts/2010/05/14 >> >> kevin flanagan. >> >> "As a student I found the emphasis on self directed creative exploration >> and the development of ones own thinking and ideas invaluable. Learning >> and exploring subjects of my own interest, on my own terms, in my own >> time was incredibly liberating. This de-schooling inspired a new >> confidence and appreciation for learning which had been lost during >> years of difficulty in secondary education. This is not to say that the >> courses where perfect. There where also some annoying restrictions. The >> division of art students into separate departments of sculpture, print >> and painting doesn’t make any sense when contemporary arts practice is >> so interdisciplinary. This only made things difficult for students >> looking for access to people, skills and equipment. Students and staff >> often struggle to maintain fertile ground for creativity. Art materials >> are expensive and studio space is at a premium. Finance for equipment >> and resources are scarce and competition between departments is high. >> More often than not finance is directed to more practical courses those >> capable of proving their value through more objective examinations and >> the ratings of postgraduate employer satisfaction. The value of the arts >> and humanities is difficult to measure in strict economic terms and as >> such they suffer. The recent decision to terminate Philosophy at >> Middlesex University a major center for research in the UK could be seen >> as symptomatic of this trend." >> >> See here for further details – >> http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp >> sectioncode=26&storycode=411482&c=2 http://www.edu-factory.org >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> > _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
