Overall Course Themes and Reflection

Going back over the whole course I wanted to pick out some commonalities, in no particular order, that can be broadly applied to unravelling complexity:

  • Complex problems are comprised of many interconnected agents
  • Complex problems often have competing interests
  • The consideration of history and culture is important in problem solving
  • Interconnected systems can end in rapid collapse
  • Education is important to unravelling complexity
  • Communication is necessary to help solve problems
  • Never underestimate human emotion and unpredictability as a complicating factor
  • Adaptability is an important in successful systems
  • Imagine the impossible
  • Be prepared for unknowns
  • Look outside the obvious sources for problem solvers: Be both inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary
At the end of the course I am slightly frustrated that we did not have more time to delve deeper into the interesting topics that we have explored. Perhaps future courses will rejig the format so deeper engagement with the ideas.

That being said, I think that this course has really helped me to connect the perspectives of my own discipline to a greater framework of knowledge. I hope that going into honours I will employ some of the knowledge and newly gained known-unknowns and known-knowns to deepen my understanding of art, cultural studies and curatorship. It has also been invaluable in connecting me to a broader academic community. I have met people with who I hope to work in the future.