I find myself preoccupied with the question of how to reach non-philosophy majors in a way that meets them where they are and confronts them with the task of thinking rigorously about philosophy. An important part of cultivating interest in philosophy is making the content of the class, and the subsequent work that the students do, feel significant or consequential.
Moreover, the way we approach assignments can have a massive impact on the way students feel about their submissions. If we are too rigid, many of our students may shut down, seeking only to do work that meets those standards. This is especially true for non-majors and first-generation students. I want students to feel at home in philosophy.
So, how do we use assignments as more than just assessments, draw in students, and make them feel at home in philosophy? In my courses, I use specific types of assignments designed to accomplish these goals, and I include playful guidelines that foster an environment of creativity, exploration, and inclusivity that allows students to feel comfortable with the process of learning (and being wrong), accentuates their already developed skills and abilities, and helps them to feel comfortable determining what is of consequence in the philosophy.
Below, I am going to talk about two assignments that I used in my philosophy of sex and love course—the Philosophy Learning Objects assignment, and the Public Service Announcement (I’d like to thank Nicolas Nicola for turning me on to this assignment). After that, I am going to discuss a simple assignment guideline I used which I call “The Mrs. Frizzle Approach” which is designed to lower the students’ defenses, and thus change their relationship to the assignment, allowing them to be creative and explore.
Assignment: Philosophy Learning Objects
In the learning objects assignment, students craft learning objects that could be used to teach a particularly hard-to-grasp or confusing topic that they have encountered in the class, or something that they consider to be of importance and feel that others need to know. I tell them to pick someone they know as their target audience, and then when it has been completed give it to them, and see if it helps them understand the topic better. If it does, their learning object has succeeded, if not, they might want to revise before submitting. It’s not a requirement, but I find that more often than not students self-report that completing this step helped them refine their submission and feel more confident.
This assignment puts power in the hands of the student to determine what is important to cover, and how to do it. This is important, especially for those students that are intimidated by philosophy, or those that find it difficult, or unproductive, to work through philosophical issues in the traditional written manner.
Here is an excerpt from my syllabus that explains the assignment.
In this assignment, you will craft learning objects that could be used by others to better understand a topic you have encountered in the class. You will find something you find difficult in the course, and once you feel you have a handle on it, create something to help others better understand the topic in question. This assignment is geared towards helping others in general, and you need not treat it as something that must be addressed to college students or professors. Instead, you can make your audience anyone that may also find the topic difficult to grasp, or hard to understand (for example—parents, grandparents, children). It is important to keep in mind that the content of your learning object must be sufficient to fully explain the issue in question.
Your project can be fully text-based, but it would be better to develop it using visual or auditory elements (e.g., a video (such as a TikTok style video), or hand-drawn images/schematics (such as a cartoon strip, or comic book), slides, flowcharts, etc.)
Make sure that your learning object details not only how to better understand the topic, but also what you originally found difficult/didn’t understand. This is important as it will allow others to follow your thinking as they make use of the learning object.
I’ve received excellent submissions from a number of different mediums, including videos made in the style of TikTok, graphic novels, PowerPoints, and flowcharts. For instance, one student created a mixed media graphic novel of “Pierre the philosophical cat” teaching a triangle about Foucault’s genealogical approach and queer theory. Each of its 5 pages was an assemblage of text bubbles, construction paper figures of the anthropomorphic triangle and their “genius French cat” teacher, and magazine cut-outs making up the background. The graphic novel begins with the triangle lamenting “Oh no… I’m reading an article on queer theory and I don’t know what genealogy is!” At which point Pierre flies into frame to offer their services teaching about Foucault and genealogy. Pierre walks the triangle through the genealogical approach and its influence on queer theory. The submission is not only charming, but informative, and importantly, it shows that the student is engaging with philosophy in a deeply immersive way.
Assignment: Public Service Announcement
Another assignment I’m fond of using is the Public Service Announcement (PSA), in which students are tasked with creating a public service announcement like we would see on television, or on public transportation. I give students two options for their submission, they can either create a poster or a video. Along with the PSA, students must submit a reflection piece that more directly connects their PSA to the philosophy. In general, the PSA is a big hit with students as it allows them to determine for themselves what issues deserve public attention. Importantly, it centers philosophy as something of actual worldwide importance.
Often they choose issues that are either personally important or connect to issues of world importance. Sometimes we forget that our students have a lot to say of worth. This assignment allows students to indulge this desire while immersing themselves in philosophy.
While this assignment lends itself to courses like environmental ethics, I have also used it in less obvious courses, such as Philosophy of Sex and Love, with great success.
Here is an excerpt from my syllabus that explains the assignment.
For this assignment, you are tasked with creating a Public Service Announcement (PSA) broadly construed. In particular, you will be tasked with creating a PSA on anything we have covered in class and offer a creative way of raising awareness about this issue. This assignment need not fit strict PSA guidelines, but rather, use the basic framework of the PSA as a jumping-off point to discuss a philosophical topic.
Typically, strong PSAs evoke emotions in the audience, identify a problem and offer a solution by having a particular call to action. If your PSA takes the form of a film it should be about 60 seconds. If your PSA takes the form of a poster it should be efficient, not overly complicated, and with a focus on quick information uptake.
Another part of the assignment will be to provide a reflection piece that details and makes explicit the issue of importance, what mood you’re trying to evoke, your way of addressing the issue (i.e. the call to action), and why you chose the particular issue and call to action. In other words, the piece asks you to reflect on your PSA. These should be no fewer than 1000 words.
The poster form and the film form offer two very different options for this assignment. The film allows you to offer more complicated ideas, and to do so with a much longer build-up. The poster version on the other hand allows you to offer a condensed idea (thus necessitating an ability to break down the idea into its constituent parts and to decide which is the part to offer) that will only be seen for a few seconds at most (were this a real world PSA poster on say public transportation).
As with the learning objects assignment, I have received excellent PSA submissions—especially in the poster format. For example, one student created a poster dedicated to the issue of sex with robots, and robot sex workers. In the poster, we see a humanoid robot, striking a sexual pose, with the words, “Say no! To sentient sex robots” running along the top, and running along the bottom of the poster “Would you like to be programmed to have sex whenever someone else wants it?” In the reflection piece the student detailed issues of consent and sex with robots, as well as issues stemming from robots programmed to be sex workers. Though the reflection piece was thorough and well done, the work of the submission came through the carefully planned and executed poster.
The “Mrs. Frizzle approach”
The above assignments are useful in themselves, but I like to pair them with what I call the “Mrs. Frizzle approach” (named after the teacher, Mrs. Frizzle, from the children’s cartoon/book series “The Magic School Bus”). The “Mrs. Frizzle approach” is a set of guidelines that I include in these assignments that works to build a sense of trust between the instructor and the student allowing them to feel free to explore their philosophical interests and in the process hopefully connect with the philosophy in a deep and sustaining way.
Where applicable I insert the following guidelines into the assignment description:
Note: I view this assignment to be one in which you, the student, should feel free to take the Mrs. Frizzle approach—“Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!” This includes the construction, design, topic of choice, and argumentation of your submission.
The “Mrs. Frizzle approach” is not consent to do a poor or sloppy job, but rather unburdens the student from the perception that I, the instructor, am judging their work based on rigid standards, and instead invites the student to lean into their own interests and be creative and thoughtful. I find that students vastly underestimate their abilities and the extent to which they have room to explore and be creative, they’ll learn more and get more out of the assignment.
With this approach, the student is given consent to use all of their talents to engage in philosophical thinking and the production of quality philosophical work. The “Mrs. Frizzle approach” is a simple addition that lowers their defenses and allows them to explore philosophy unburdened by the fears many students (especially non-majors) have. In short, it changes students’ relationships to the assignment from one in which they seek to fulfill the requirements of an “A” to one that brings exploration and understanding to the fore.
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Matthew Watts
Matthew Watts is currently a PhD Candidate in Philosophy at the University of Miami, where they specialize in memory, mind, cognitive science, and technology. They have further interests in such topics as existentialism, social philosophy, and political philosophy. Their dissertation deals with the nature of semantic memory, and how it informs theories of memory more broadly.
