What is required today to understand the notion of interaction design? Looking at most academic programs, it seems that a loose variety of interdisciplinary study opportunities, vaguely related to each of the facets within the overall discipline, can be thought to provide some sort of cohesive body of knowledge. This is unfortunate, but worse is the common perception that, because of interaction design’s breadth, we cannot widen our view in order to synthesize a broader knowledge of the discipline; instead, we rely on this sort of piecemeal approach that is servient to the parts rather than the whole.

In general, most colleges and universities think too small. And even more problematic, schools tend to avoid looking at the shifting of the political, economic, environmental and cultural landscapes. Without necessarily being very intentional or well-informed in their efforts, schools create academic programs without really thinking about what purpose they serve. And unintentionally or not, they perpetuate the status quo by not letting their students think very far beyond the margins of current cultural and technological markers…