The world of art instills creativity. The world of science — methods. Combining the two provides an opportunity for ingenuity. However, at Queen’s, the combination is rare.
Queen’s is among only a handful of Ontario universities that don’t require undergraduate students to take a mandatory cross-disciplinary credit. The absence of a required course persists, despite a recommendation made in favour of such a requirement nearly 16 years ago.
However, while taking a course outside of a student’s primary discipline remains a choice, both students and professors have built interdisciplinary options into their university experience.
Why doesn’t Queen’s have a mandatory breadth credit?
“We are one of very few universities that maintain this …show more content…
Roel Vertegaal, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and the Director of the Human Media Lab (HML) at Queen’s.
Vertegaal says such a pursuit is impossible without combining art and science, and his work reflects that. Along with his work in the HML, Vertegaal teaches the Computing and the Creative Arts (COCA) program, which integrates computer science with elements of drama, music, multimedia and visual art.
Arts and science are critical influences upon each other, but the system in place at Queen’s allows students to avoid uncomfortable or unfamiliar material, he said. In doing so, he said the university is creating what he calls a dangerous “handholding” atmosphere, where students are kept safe within isolated disciplines.
“I find that appalling, damning, and infantilizing,” he said. “If we keep them in their little bubble or cocoon, I think that’s detrimental.”
For Vertegaal, the combination of artistic and scientific mindsets “is what invention is all …show more content…
This is the whole cookie cutter teaching mentality,” he said.
“If you don’t want a bridge to collapse, fine. But if you want something completely different, you need some open-mindedness.”
An alumnus’ cross-disciplinary decisions
Zachery Wells, ArtSci ’14, is among the students who adopted Vertegaal’s mentality, but he’s still wary of mandatory requirements.
“I have never been an advocate for mandatory cross-disciplinary course requirements,” alumnus Wells he told The Journal via Facebook Messenger. It’s important that students are given freedom of choice, especially considering the massive expense of a university degree, he said.
He believes that the decision to cross disciplines is an intelligent choice, but shouldn’t be forced upon students by an administration.
When he attended Queen’s, Wells used the major-minor system to cross between disciplines, completing a major in biology and a minor in gender studies.
In first year, he was unaware of the myriad of options available, and he may have limited himself without proper exposure to different streams of thought, he
Queen’s is among only a handful of Ontario universities that don’t require undergraduate students to take a mandatory cross-disciplinary credit. The absence of a required course persists, despite a recommendation made in favour of such a requirement nearly 16 years ago.
However, while taking a course outside of a student’s primary discipline remains a choice, both students and professors have built interdisciplinary options into their university experience.
Why doesn’t Queen’s have a mandatory breadth credit?
“We are one of very few universities that maintain this …show more content…
Roel Vertegaal, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and the Director of the Human Media Lab (HML) at Queen’s.
Vertegaal says such a pursuit is impossible without combining art and science, and his work reflects that. Along with his work in the HML, Vertegaal teaches the Computing and the Creative Arts (COCA) program, which integrates computer science with elements of drama, music, multimedia and visual art.
Arts and science are critical influences upon each other, but the system in place at Queen’s allows students to avoid uncomfortable or unfamiliar material, he said. In doing so, he said the university is creating what he calls a dangerous “handholding” atmosphere, where students are kept safe within isolated disciplines.
“I find that appalling, damning, and infantilizing,” he said. “If we keep them in their little bubble or cocoon, I think that’s detrimental.”
For Vertegaal, the combination of artistic and scientific mindsets “is what invention is all …show more content…
This is the whole cookie cutter teaching mentality,” he said.
“If you don’t want a bridge to collapse, fine. But if you want something completely different, you need some open-mindedness.”
An alumnus’ cross-disciplinary decisions
Zachery Wells, ArtSci ’14, is among the students who adopted Vertegaal’s mentality, but he’s still wary of mandatory requirements.
“I have never been an advocate for mandatory cross-disciplinary course requirements,” alumnus Wells he told The Journal via Facebook Messenger. It’s important that students are given freedom of choice, especially considering the massive expense of a university degree, he said.
He believes that the decision to cross disciplines is an intelligent choice, but shouldn’t be forced upon students by an administration.
When he attended Queen’s, Wells used the major-minor system to cross between disciplines, completing a major in biology and a minor in gender studies.
In first year, he was unaware of the myriad of options available, and he may have limited himself without proper exposure to different streams of thought, he