This assignment is OPTIONAL, NOT REQUIRED.
If you choose to accept this SECRET MISSION, the assignment will count
towards your grade IF IT HELPS. That
is, this assignment can only help, not hurt your grade. (The assignment is not, however, Ôextra
pointsÕ. Rather, the grade for the
assignment will be averaged with your other grades to determine a final grade,
only if it helps. Otherwise, it
will be excluded.)
SECRET MISSION: Academic
philosophy is standardly presented through texts, and classically, drama and
literature have also served as philosophical vehicles. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries
brought new technologies (audio, photography, film, video) that have also been
important philosophical media, but require rethinking how the media relates to
the philosophical content. Your
assignment, should you decide to accept, is to:
(1) Create a still photo or
short video (less than 2 minutes) illustrating a philosophical problem or
position.
(2) Write 1-2 pages briefly
explaining the philosophical content of the photo or video.
Submissions may be comedic,
dramatic, tragic, or any combination thereof.
Submissions are worth up
to 15% of your final grade (but the
instructor reserves the right to lower this
percentage as he sees fit.) Group submissions are possible (but
with a corresponding dilution of relative
worth).
Examples of assignments might
include, but are not limited to:
1. A photo that brings out a salient dimension of a
philosophical problem.
2. A short movie illustrating a philosophical thought
experiment.
All photographic and video work should be original.