Sol LeWitt famously said that “ideas are machines for making art.” Integrative Seminar 1 awakens the possibilities of writing as an exciting, dynamic source of inspiration. It can be an experimental space full of play and invention. It can be a formal and rigorous space for debate. It can be a tool used to process, explore, express or reflect. Writing does not simply represent thought, it is a catalyst to form thought. In this course you will be introduced to a diverse range of texts (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, journalism, theory) in order to consider the expressive possibilities of language. Class discussions will examine how writing conveys ideas and emotions. They will also make room for your voice to enter into larger critical and creative conversations. At the heart of the the integrative model is the connection to your Integrative Studio class. Our goal is to make reading, writing and critical thinking essential components of the art, design and strategic thinking processes. The two courses are tied together conceptually through a shared theme (as defined by the keyword of your class) and through bridge projects. Bridge projects are shared assignments between studio and seminar. They ask you to explicitly and productively blur the boundaries between the two courses. What happens when writing becomes a form of making, and making becomes a form of thinking? Avatar An avatar creates an identity that is distinct from the original and yet intensely connected to it at the same time. It can have a spiritual connotation, meaning the physical manifestation of a soul, or virtual one, when used to mean a representation of the self in the online world. How can we use the idea of an avatar to think critically about ideas of regeneration and embodiment? Self and other? br /> Fake How do we define what is fake and what is real, and what are the various values we attribute to these categories? Through the lens of Fake, we explore the ways that ideas, images and objects can be used – positively and negatively – to produce alternative forms of knowledge and views of reality. Memory Memory is an act of imagination. It can be a process of recollecting or commemorating a person, an object, an event. It can be individual or collective. How does memory shape our identity and our understanding of the world? How can we use it as both a tool and a topic for our work? Shift A shift is a subtle change which can have enormous consequences. It suggests movement from one place to another, or one idea to another. It can be personal or cultural. What are your stories of shifting? How did they come to pass? How can we talk about them through our work?