I'm a senior this year, pursuing an independent concentration in a combination of Science and Technology Studies and New Media Art. I came to Brown hoping to concentrate in Physics and Visual Art, but during my sophomore year I was enticed by courses slightly outside of these disciplines. In Intro to Science Studies, taught by Jenny Reardon, I began to question what I thought I knew about "Science." I explored these new questions in a variety of new media courses (taught by Wendy Chun, Todd Winkler, Edrex Fontanilla, and Jina Chang).

By creating interactive CD-Roms, installations, and video projects that focused on key isssues from my science studies pursuits, I began to fuse the two interdisciplinary fields. I knew that I needed to design an independent concentration to reflect my newfound direction and aspirations (Neither Science and Technology Studies nor New Media Studies are concentrations at Brown yet, though there is ample coursework in both fields for interested students), and in the spring of '04 I finally submitted the necessary forms.

Concentration :

My concentration has not yet been officially approved, but this is my first attempt at describing what I want to examine. The proposal is subject to change slightly in the coming months, as my advisor, Wendy Chun, and I discuss the Committee's recommendations.

STS-Related Activities outside of Class:

Along with junior Addie Goss, I have coordinated the STS DUG since Fall '03. This is the Science and Technology Studies Departmental Undergraduate Group, for the uninitiated. We plan STS panels and events, bring in speakers, and manage a blog and listserv for interested undergraduates.

In Spring '03 I participated in PSO (Providence Science Outreach), which is a fantastic program in which Brown students teach science lessons to underserved public elementary school kids. The school I taught in could not afford a science program.

For Summer '04 I won an NSF social science research grant to work with Wellesley professor Susan Reverby on a project to track how story of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study travels. This research will help guide the senior project for my independent concentration and help Susan finish her upcoming book on the Study. It's been a fantastic opportunity- I highly recommend applying for one of these grants through Wellesley, if you can.

Examples of Work:

These are two views from an interactive installation entitled The Social Experiment, which I created with Erin Sisk in Spring '04. A motion detector sets off a voice recording which prompts a participant-turned-subject (left) to fill out a consent form while another participant-experimenter (right) performs "trials" on her image, which is captured by a video camera and then projected into a water-filled beaker (blue object above). The piece performs many tasks. It calls into question the power relations between subject and experimenter, the complexities of "informed consent," and the murkiness of human experimentation, but it also asks the viewer to reflect upon new media as its own form of "social experimentation."

I will link to my forthcoming website soon!

Post-Graduate Plans/Pursuits:

I am still considering the "what next" question. Possible options include an intensive masters program in new media art, a doctoral degree in science and technology studies, or some unique combination of the two. First, however, I plan to leave the country for some extended travel.

Favorite Links:

This is the STS DUG blog. If you'd like to join it, email sts@brown.edu .

This is the web page for one of the (in my opinion) coolest exhibitions around; check out Paul Vanouse's Relative Velocity Inscription Device. I wish I had thought of this- it is the sort of work I would like to make. Eduardo Kac's GFP Bunny and Genesis, of course, are also important- and controversial- works.