Andrew Yang

Liberal Arts Department
Faculty

Web page(s)

www.andrewyang.com; smallsciencezines.blogspot.com; artscichicago.blogspot.com

Background

Ph.D., Biology, Duke University, 2004
B.S., Chemistry & Biology, Juniata College, 1995

Personal statement

My background is in ecology & evolution as well as the philosophy of science.  I study the underlying mechanisms of biological diversity and also the cultural contexts for how we understand that diversity. This approach to science and the culture of science is fundamentally interdisciplinary and spans a variety of topics and communities, from academic research to art & public education projects

My teaching at the SAIC is integral and reciprocal to my research projects.  The focus is students gaining a core fluency in biological concepts together with an informed and critical perspective on science as a social practice. Given the crucial role artists play in the discourse about science, society, and technology, my aim is to help students develop an awareness of the historical, philosophical, and technical aspects of biology while also exploring the inexhaustible wonder of the living world.

Current Interests

Academic Research:
Thinking outside the embryo - The superorganism as a model for EvoDevo studies (2007); Matters of demarcation - Philosophy, biology and the emerging fraternity between disciplines (2008); Is Oprah Zulu? - Sampling & seeming certainty in DNA ancestry testing (2006).

Visual/Public Projects:
The Small Science Collective (publication series, ongoing); ArtSci Chicago (web-based community, ongoing); Biological Agents, Gallery 400, Chicago (curatorial project, 2008); Re:Production – Suggestions from the Animal Kingdom, SPACES Gallery, Cleveland  (video animation, 2007); Caminacule Exquisite Corpse, Work Gallery, Ann Arbor (collaborative digital collage, 2005).

I am currently revisiting an earlier project comparing biological thinking in North American and Japan.  The developing research will examine changing conceptions of “nature” in both cultures by exploring the role of human-animal interactions in contemporary urban ecosystems.

Experience at SAIC

Science Coordinator for Liberal Arts, Faculty Senate, Diversity Committee member.

Current courses include Chimeric Practices - Art/Science; Eco & Biosystems; Critical Genetics; the Insect World, Visualizing Biological Phenomena; Visual & Critical Studies Tutorial.  I also co-lead study trips to Japan with other SAIC faculty focused on the history of technology in modern Japan called Contexts in Contrast.