School
for
Poetic
Computation
Join us in ‘For Love and Science: Reclaiming Science through ancestral and intuitive practices’ for a tender exploration of experimentation and research! Learn about matter, energy and information outside the classical western worldview. We’ll explore fundamentals of motion, electricity, astronomy, nuclear energy and quantum physics through an embodied and intuitive lens. Together, we will create new tools for research and experimentation, collect and analyze data through movement, meditation, and improvisation. Grounding ourselves in ancestral wisdoms, we will create our own cosmologies about the complex and elegant universe. We’ll ask how we can be transformed by learning about the patterns of nature and positively transform the wounded systems around us (can we also have wave-particle duality, be at times discreet and other times amorphous in aspects of our identity?). How can we do science differently when we dare to use our senses, follow a flow, a beat, a wave, and collectively work on different practices, tools, and technologies to engage with our environment? We’ll unpack the limitations bound up in our current colonial reductionist scientific methodology, disentangle ourselves from dominant science, and seek ancestral and intuitive practices that could unlock the next wave of liberation sciences.
Images courtesy of teachers, participants and class documentarians.
Participants will understand science through the lens of storytelling and science as storytelling. By the end of the class, participants have a good grasp of Western traditional science as one way of shaping the world into a narrative and have encountered different types of storytelling.
After an introduction to foundational science practice from different perspectives, participants will engage in creating their own scientific story through building DIY sensors, engaging in theater games, and practicing rituals based on indigenous practice.
They will develop their own methods of gathering data through the body and the senses by engaging with the world around them and tracking patterns in nature, culture, and psyche through intuitive and embodied practice.
Participants will be expected to invest time outside of class (2-3 hours/week) for personal data collection, observation, experimentation, light readings per week.
For participants for whom the NYC area is accessible:
Participants will vote on and schedule up to 3 in-person field trips to museums, outdoor spaces, and the CUNY ASRC Community Sensor Lab. At the Community Sensor Lab, participants will tinker in the lab, learn about sensors, and other cutting edge research happening in the facility. Online participants will have access to a virtual tour of the space.
Required:
This class is for you if…
Participants who attend the in-person field trips will be required to provide proof of up-to-date vaccination status (including boosters) and negative PCR tests before the start of class. Participants, teachers and staff are expected to be masked during field trips.
Kendra is an intersectional scientist, educator, artist and woman of color on many edges. Raised by artists, educated as an electrical engineer (BS Renssaeler Polytechnic Institute, MS CU Boulder) she is also trained in anti-oppression facilitation, theater, mindfulness and permaculture/social ecology. Her work and research is a convergence of these many waters. She founded 4LoveandScience in 2014 as a platform to teach transformative science throughout the country. She frequently collaborates with artist to curate and produce multi-media installations and immersive performances around themes of psyche and science. She currently works as a science educator at CUNY's Advanced Science Research Center where she has founded The Community Sensor Lab as a space for DIY community science and advocacy.
She/Her
· website
· twitter
· instagram
Zahra is an interdisciplinary scholar from Vienna with roots in Iraq.
With a background in journalism and media, they are now dedicated to environmental studies and creative writing within NYU’s Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement program. Recently, their work has been revolving around Iraqi orange trees, and what it means to come into their senses when conducting research. They are currently writing a piece of speculative fiction about environmental disaster. It looks at sandstorms, droughts, floods, and how we can move closer together to create alliances beyond disciplines, borders, and species.
they/them/no pronouns
· website
· twitter
· instagram
Applications open until Applications closed on December 2, 2022.
You can expect to hear back from us about the status of your application on December 16, 2022. Please email us at admissions@sfpc.study with any questions you have.
For 10 classes, it costs $1200 + $39.24 in processing fees, for a one-time payment. We also offer payment plans. Participants can schedule monthly payments of the same amount. First and last payments must be made before the start and end of class. *Processing fees apply for each payment.
SFPC processes all payments via Withfriends and Stripe. Please email admissions@sfpc.study if these payment options don't work for you.
For more information about what we look for in applicants, scholarships, and other frequently asked questions, please visit our applicant FAQ.
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