2019 Seed Grants
Recipients:
- Jeffrey Benjamin (Graduate Student; Department of Anthropology)
Description:
- Most researchers will admit that a significant proportion of their discoveries, ideas, and achievements are the direct or indirect result of a series of chance events and encounters that occur outside of any describable formal structure.
- This group explored the concepts of 'serendipity' and 'epiphany' (in its colloquial, secular sense) in scientific research and discourse
- A first step was a "mini-conference" for researchers to present and discuss ideas and stories.
- The goal was not to instrumentalize or exploit the concepts of serendipity and epiphany, but rather to protect them and the conditions that allow them to flourish.
Recipient:
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Yuan Yi (Graduate Student; Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures)
Description:
- The project investigated the meaning of craft in postindustrial society, where manufacturing, the long-time opponent to craft, no longer constitutes a major economic sector.
- A one-day interdisciplinary conference was held at Columbia in December 2019 that brought together practitioners, activists, and scholars whose work centers around craft, technology, and the economy.
- The first two sessions raised critical questions about the relationship between craft and machine, the utility of “old” technologies, and the sustainability of craft in today’s American market.
- The other sessions considered the cases of Asian countries from a comparative perspective, with an emphasis on the intangible cultural heritage system, the question of cultural diversity, and ethical consumer behaviors as a driving force in the craft industry.