Affect is to cognition and behavior as feeling is to thinking and acting, or as values are to beliefs and practices. Subject considers these relations, both at the psychological level of organization and in terms of their neurobiological and sociocultural counterparts.
Administration of Subject
Giving and taking clear and concise and consistent feedback is a sine qua non when it comes to facilitating the organization and development of the 9.68 collaborative learning system. Students are expected to discuss and resolve most procedural and substantive questions about 9.68/02 and/or matters of its thematic form/content among themselves - with each other, in study groups, in the classroom and in other contexts as appropriate. Individually and collectively, you may also address questions and comments to either or both Instructors.
Note, 9.68 invariably involves a substantial "paper chase" Papers not handed in hard copy form in class (or submitted via email) may be brought to our offices. Copies of current handouts will generally available outside the office door. We will normally be available there for consultation during regular office. You might also be able to find one or both of us there at other times by chance or (better yet) by appointment.
Syllabus
Unless otherwise indicated below, class meets weekly (or, on occasion).
Everyone will be randomly assigned, at the outset, to a self-organizing study group whose members are expected to collaborate as conscientiously and as effectively as possible toward commonly shared subject-related ends. To begin with, each group will consensually arrange its own weekly schedule of independent activities -- including at least an additional 2 hours of study group meetings weekly outside of class. Note: Those 2 hours are part of the 12 unit demand characteristic of the situation and are officially required in lieu of attendance at a third lecture hour. It is one of our guiding assumptions that formal enrollment in this class signifies a willingness on your part to devote to it a given modicum of time and effort.
For our part, we expect (and this syllabus assumes) that being a conscientious participant means devoting no more (and ideally not much less) than eight (8) additional hours per week doing "9.68 things."
Like what? Relevant activities may include but need not necessarily be limited to such obviously pertinent scholarly activities as theoretical reflection, in-depth discussion, making regular journal entries, planning and writing assigned reaction papers, doing assigned reading, doing independent research, doing reportage, documenting something relevant, (e.g. making videos), organizing and taking field trips, viewing and reviewing films or plays, etc. watching and interpreting other events, etc. Needless to add: It is left largely up to you to determine both the amount and the quality of the time that you put into 9.68. Suffice it to say further: insofar as this is intended to be a collaborative learning process, it is highly advisable for you to discuss among yourselves your hopes and expectations for the class and to thus share with us and with each other some sense of the commitment that people are making to various phases of the process. Or longtime experience teaches us that the particular kind of pedagogy that is involved here is capable of providing all of the participants with a quality learning experience. The only major proviso is that everyone involved constantly needs to be clear about the quantity and quality of their own participation (e.g. in terms of time and effort). It is also our intention that the quality of your final (letter) grade be a fair and accurate reflection of the quality of your participation in the 9.68 learning process.
One of our key learning activities involves going together on a field trip to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). Everyone is expected to attend! (additional details to follow).
Text
"If it ain't busted, don't fix it." This is generally good advice, and this year's edition of 9.68 will begin as its predecessors have been doing for almost two decades: with all the participants devoting several weeks to reading (perhaps many re-reading) and discussing a book whose subtitle identifies it as An Inquiry into Values The book is Robert M. Pirsig's, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. William Morrow and Co., 1974.
If you decide to remain in the class, you should arrange to get your own personal copy of this text to have and to hold (and to mark up as need be). There is a cheaper, more compact Bantam or Pocket Book edition, but you are advised to get the larger format paperback. There will also be additional reading assignments, from time to time on various subjects. Most of them will be provided to you as handouts. For more specific information, see below.
The MFA Field Trip
You, your study group and the class as a whole will embark on a tightly-scheduled and closely-timed whirlwind fieldtrip "in search of quality" at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). The field trip is a key 9.68 activity and all officially enrolled students are expected to participate. In case of any irreconcilable conflicts, the problem(s) must be worked out to the mutual satisfaction of your entire study group and the proposed resolution must be approved by one or more of the instructors-in-charge.
Other Relevant Activities
"Taking 9.68" is not a spectator sport. In addition to being fully and regularly present at lectures, attending special events (e.g. MFA field trip) and faithfully participating with others in study group activities, it is going to be up to you - individually and collectively -- to either enhance or to retard the quality of the learning experience everyone involved is having. At a minimum, this will mean devoting time and effort to relevant independent activities, such as:
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Doing assigned reading
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Doing assigned moviegoing / listening / viewing
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Keeping a JOURNAL
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You and your groupmates are responsible for tracking the amount and quality your own 9.68 performance in real time
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Writing "Reaction Papers"