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. DUE May
1st.
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 image
(e.g. a photo) or a 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 an entire letter grade.
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.
Instructor reserves right to retain a copy for
non-profit display (e.g. to future classes).