Newsletter of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University
Students and faculty have gathered at noontime in the College of Architecture's Wright Gallery this fall to watch as panels of experts from numerous disciplines wax illustrious on a far-flung variety of topics in discussions moderated by Peter Lang, associate professor of architecture at Texas A&M.
These much discussed happenings — four, so far — surround the webcasts of Lang's innovative talk show, "In Theory," which have aired live, since the inaugural Oct. 6 show, from the Langford Architecture Center on the Texas A&M campus.
Three of the four episodes — "Ugly-Form" (Oct. 6), "Awful-Beauty" (Oct. 29) and "Tinker-Toy" (Nov. 10) — can be viewed online at http://talkintheory.tumblr.com The fourth episode, "Dis-Played" (Dec. 3) will soon be posted.
In lieu of a traditional scholarly debate, "In Theory" follows in the familiar talk show format, with critical discussion on a range of vital issues concerning the arts, architecture and philosophy.
"The formula is simple, said Lang, "each episode focuses on a specific subject related to the most urgent and pressing issues affecting the world of design today. The hour-long discussions are meant to delve deeper into the topics and contemplate different perspectives."
The show's guests, so far, have included faculty from the departments of visualization, the humanities and architecture.
Later programs have included video taped features, such as visualization professor Joshua Bienko's video tour through Big Box America in episode three, "Tinker-Toy."
The episode videos can also be viewed on the College of Architecture's Vimeo website:
"Ugly Form" (Oct. 6, 2009), an interrogation into the question of otherness, the unknown, the uncanny with special guests Theodore George, philosophy; Joshua Bienko, visualization; and Gabriel Esquivel, architecture department.
"Awful Beauty" (Oct. 6, 2009), examining the unnatural, the unthinkable, the place of sublime terror, with special guests Chuck Taylor, literature; Yauger Williams, visualization; Weiling He, architecture and Gabriela Campagnol, architecture.
"Tinker-Toy" (Nov. 10, 2009), asked if science and technology help to understand human nature, with special guests Kristi Sweet, philosophy; Philip Galanter, visualization; and Sarah Deyong, architecture. This episode also debuted the video feature with Josh Bienko’s short, "A Big Box Paradox, A big Box Parallax.”
"Dis-Played" (Dec. 3), which posed the question, "How do you look?" will soon be posted online with the other episodes. This fourth episode featured Daniel Humphrey, assistant professor, film studies and women's and gender studies; Antonio La-Pastina, associate professor of communications; and Stephen Caffey, assistant professor of architecture.
"Missing Haiti" (Feb 18), What happened in Haiti? Or, is the better question, what happened to Haiti to make the earthquake disaster one of the worst in recent history? These questions and others will be mulled by a diverse group of Texas A&M disaster relief and sustainable reconstruction experts in “Missing Haiti,” a special fifth episode of “In Theory,” the live Internet talk show moderated by associate architecture professor Peter Lang.
The upcoming webcast will be taped in front of a live audience in the Langford Architecture Center’s Wright Gallery and streamed live over the Internet noon - 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18. Web viewers can access the show via Channel 6 on the TTVN network.
Joining Lang for the “Missing Haiti” episode will be Pliny Fisk, founder of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems; Carla Prater, faculty fellow with the Hazard Reduction and Recover Center, Walter Peacock, HRRC director and holder of the Rodney L. Dockery Endowed Professorship in Housing and the Homeless; and Cecilia Giusti, assistant professor of urban planning.
As "In Theory host Peter Lang says, "Make sense of your day, "In Theory."
- Posted: Nov. 25, 2009 -
