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Andrew Yang

Professor

Contact

Bio

Associate Professor, Liberal Arts (2005). BS, 1995, Juniata College; PhD, 2004, Duke University. Publications: Leonardo; Current Biology;  Interdisciplinary Science Reviews; Evolution & Development; Biological Theory; International Studies in the Philosophy of Science; Insectes Sociaux; Liberal Education; Gastronomica. Exhibitions: MCA Chicago; 14th Istanbul Biennial; BankART NYK, Yokohama; Work Gallery, Ann Arbor. Invited Talks: HKW Berlin; Brown University; Kalvi Frontiers of Science; University of Illinois Chicago; ASU-MBL Woods Hole; Northwestern University.

Experience at SAIC

Being at SAIC is like taking part in a gigantic swap meet of ideas, things, and relations constantly made anew.

Personal Statement

"Form, like nature, is one of the most complicated words in the English language. Form is about shape, number, figure, beauty, making, ritual, image, order, cause, relationship, kind, conduct, and character. 'To have good form' describes a way of doing something that is at once about ethics, technics, and practice."—Donna Haraway, Crystals, Fields, and Fabrics (2004)My work develops along hybrid spaces and in hybrid forms. I have trained in the biological sciences as well as the visual arts. With this background, I explore the space between disciplines as well as across them, examining the ways in which we negotiate our intimate and troubled relationship to "nature" in theory and practice. The projects take various forms, including academic papers, talks, installations, and zines, with the venues ranging from journals, exhibitions, and talks. In the fall of 2015 I will be a visiting fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin exploring the significance of the Anthropocene hypothesis to archival knowledge.I teach at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including biology courses in the Liberal Arts department, as well as studio and thesis advising across sculpture, photography, writing +. I also co-lead SAIC study trips to Japan on science, technology, and society themes and in studio art.

Current Interests

Shaped stones, the Anthropocene, analogies, near-Earth objects

 

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

Symbiosis describes the relationships that bind organisms in a life together. Symbioses can be between species or within species¿bee to flower, mother to child, and even parasite to host. Drawing from ecological, evolutionary, and behavioral research, we will carefully consider the dynamics of cooperation and dependency across cells, food webs, and even urban neighborhood. Studying symbiosis is not only a window into a myriad of extraordinary biological relations, it is also fundamental to systems thinking in the context of sustainability. Weekly readings, in-class exercises, small collaborative projects will be integral to our study, leading to an understanding of how observation and experiment can help us unpack the many complexities of living together.
We will consider the work by Lynn Margulis, Robin Wall-Kimmerer, Charles Darwin,Suzanne Simard, Harry Harlow, Thomas Schelling, Vi Hart, and many others.
Weekly readings, in-class and out-of-class exercises, small collaborative projects.

Class Number

2277

Credits

3

Description

The adage 'you are what you eat' presents us with both a fundamental biological fact as well as a statement of social and economic identity. As consumers in the most literal sense, our understanding of nutrition, global agriculture, food safety, and desires to embrace 'fast' or 'slow' food all demand a working literacy in the biology of the organisms that make up our food ecology. This introduction adopts an integrative approach to this ecology by examining the basic biochemical and evolutionary history of food, along with the genetic modifications and unprecedented global agriculture system that characterizes our food-lives today.

Class Number

2217

Credits

3

Description

The Graduate Projects course allows students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work and research from their home studio or mobile platforms. The continued development of ideas and approaches initiated during the summer Graduate Studio Seminar will be supported through in-person and online conversation with SAIC Program Mentors. These liaisons are intended to support the off-campus development of work while also providing personal connections to SAIC's vast global network of distinguished alumni. Open to Low Residency MFA students only.

Class Number

2109

Credits

3