Occupy as Form: Ken Goldberg

The Arts Research Center at UC Berkeley is sponsoring the working session “Occupy as Form” on February 10, 2012. Participants have been invited to post some brief thoughts on the topic in advance of the event. This guest posting is by Ken Goldberg, craigslist Distinguished Professor of New Media, IEOR and EECS, College of Engineering and School of Information, UC Berkeley.


Keyword: occupation

"Love and work...work and love, that's all there is.” - Freud

I'm curious about the resonance of the word "occupation" which connotes both non-violent strategy and employment.  The Occupy Movement is fueled by frustration over unemployment: many of its participants are out of work.  The movement provides a daily set of roles and duties that provide a form of employment with its associated benefits (outside of salary). I'd like to explore possible associations with Frederick Froebel's "Gifts and Occupations" concept which was the foundation for kindergarden (1837). It also seems relevant that the word contrasts with "pre-occupied" which characterizes so many of us who are deluged by information and technology.