Every hour numerous satellites generate hundreds of images of Earth surface, capturing multiple aspects of anthropogenic activities as well as environmental processes. For many years having access to, analyzing and interpreting these petabytes of information (very Big Data) was a privilege of a handful of experts.

This course asks how and why art and open societies have sustained each other across history, and how they may continue to do so beyond the crisis they jointly undergo in the current context of rapid technological, economic and political transformation. While focusing more specifically on artistic production, on its present crisis, and its possible futures, this course puts art in the broader perspective of the history of cultural production, and of its social, political and economic conditions of possibility at the modern intersection of state and market.

This course offers participants the opportunity to learn about and experience an instructional design approach specific to the kinds of pedagogies that are a hallmark of Liberal Arts and Sciences education. Participants will engage in course and skills-building activities designed specifically with engaged and writing-rich pedagogies in mind.