This years topic is DAEMONS AND OTHER DEVICES. A rigorous, intensive studio combining hands-on prototyping and rigorous research covering material explored within the Integrated Design Studio courses for the BFA Integrated Design program. Students will strengthen prototyping methods, develop the ability to recognize social changes, issues and opportunities within their communities; learn how research methodologies are implemented within action and intervention; and focus on the integration of these themes with their interests. Like tricksters, daemons hover betwixt and between humans and other forces. With the advent of the computer in the 1970s, the word daemon was used to describe feedback, noise, interference, or, that which exceeds a logical system. Today’s “printer daemons” and “mailer daemons” lay dormant until summoned to handle requests for services such as print spooling and file transfers — yet they often seem to have a mind of their own. What are the social, spiritual, and technological functions of daemons? How does the invention of daemons preserve/challenge myths of progress, business as usual, and the status quo? How can daemons, tricksters, and other charismatic objects enrich how we design and interpret our world? What can we learn from these Others and how can they transform our worldview? A studio intensive combining hands-on prototyping and rigorous research. Students will strengthen prototyping methods; develop the ability to recognize social changes, issues, and opportunities within their communities; and learn how research methodologies are implemented within action and intervention.