SBWI Alumnus Matthew Shockey to Present Public Lecture at Western Michigan University
Making in a Time of Unmaking explores the relationship between craftsmanship, sustainability, and our connection to the natural world.
We are proud to recognize 2025 Furniture Design graduate R. Matthew Shockey, who will present a public lecture titled Making in a Time of Unmaking at Western Michigan University on Thursday, November 5, 2026.
Matt Shockey is a Professor of Sustainability Studies at Indiana University South Bend and the Associate Editor for the Society of American Period Furniture Makers. He earned a Professional Diploma in Wood Design here at SBWI in 2025 and currently lives and works in Kalamazoo, where he works with both writing and wood.
Making in a time of Unmaking explores the complex relationship between making, destruction, and our understanding of the natural world. It
Making in a Time of Unmaking
Making is always also an unmaking. Reflecting on the trees that surrounded him growing up in Western Pennsylvania and the history of the human transformation of the land that they embody, as well as on the trees he now relies on as a woodworker, Matt Shockey explores how we know and love the world by making things, but how destruction is the shadow that inevitably follows behind. Seeing no way to overcome the tension between action and destruction, he suggests how we might make objects that acknowledge that tension and help us live within it. (source: https://wmich.edu/ethics/events/lectures)
An Invitation to the Woodworking and Preservation Communities
For anyone interested in craftsmanship, sustainability, historic preservation, or the philosophical significance of making things by hand, Making in a Time of Unmaking offers an opportunity to consider the deeper meaning of the objects we create and the materials we use.
SBWI is proud to see its alumni contributing to conversations that reach beyond the workshop and into academia and the broader community. Congratulations, Matt, on this opportunity to shape and encourage this discussion for makers. We encourage students, alumni, instructors, and friends to attend.
Making in a Time of Unmaking — A Public Lecture with Matt Shockey
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
Time: 5:30–7:00 PM
Location: Room 1303, Dunbar Hall, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Presenter: R. Matthew Shockey, Professor of Sustainability Studies at Indiana University South Bend and SBWI Class of 2025
Hosted by: Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, Western Michigan University
The lecture is open to the public.
