Reminder About Discussion Questions

Keep in mind, the second round of discussion questions you are writing should incorporate salons, lectures, and/or museum visits. Ideally, you will demonstrate HOW various elements of what you're experiencing (reading, seeing, writing, and thinking about) throughout Bridge connect to one another (local). The questions generated from the connections you make should lead your classmates to ponder their Overall Bridge Experience and/or what it means to be a member of and student in present-day America society (global).

For instance: It's interesting to think about how Eustace would react to Kevin Henry's lecture today. Eustace has always been designing efficient and sustainable "products" from nature, which is what Kevin Henry is urging contemporary designers to do. Granted, a chair is made from a tree and nature provided the tree, but there is a difference between the way Eustace uses a tree and the way mainstream American society uses the tree. We, as a society, exploit the tree--take what we need, dye it black or blue or fuschia, and who cares what happens to the rest.

Eustace would not let any particle of the tree go to waste AND he would offer the tree a prayer of thanksgiving.

You, as the next generation of designers, artists, producers, etc. will be faced with the remnants of a culture that exploits and abuses its resources. Like Eustace, you will need to figure out how to get the most out of every particle. What kind of awareness will you bring to your chosen field? What "products" do you hope to generate through your work and how will you make them, as Kevin said, sustainable and long-lasting?