INBOX

My email INBOX at SUNY New Paltz, where I teach, is a public address. This makes it a public space for people to reach me. It is a conceptual space. Students no longer wait in line during office hours to speak with a professor, they email and hope to either discuss an issue virtually or set up an appointment. This public space is also a place where "others" can email me and expect to find ME. Conceptually this challenges the materiality of a relationship where there has previously (meaning in my experience) been DESIGN. As an instructor I expect myself to wear certain clothing and comport myself in a manner consistent with my role and work. I have depended on the architecture of the university; the library, an office, classrooms, lecture centers, studios. Now the space called INBOX is a free and open access space. I can ignore email, but it requires attention. It is in my space.

Occasionally something unexpected and interesting comes to my INBOX. A search engine, like MyLife.com added my name to a conference invitation list. If I respond I doubt that a person will know who I am and yet, I am interested in their conference. Here is the information. It addresses DESIGN interwoven with anthropology, technology and other areas outside the realm of creating objects or buildings. I am intrigued because concepts have become the spaces that I occupy more than a diverse number of structures. Will someone please design a better INBOX?
Design Conference

Respectfully yours,
Emily Caigan, MFA
(aka) Bob's Daughter

caigane@newpaltz.edu
Women's Studies Program
SUNY New Paltz