Instructor Insights
Below, Prof. Ben Mangrum describes various aspects of how he taught 21L.434 The Science Fiction of Freedom in the fall semester of 2024.
OCW: The general subject 21L.434 Science Fiction has been taught by many different instructors over the years, with an assortment of different thematic foci. What motivated you to select freedom as the focus for this iteration of the course?
Ben Mangrum: At the time when I was planning for the class, I was reflecting on several works of science fiction I’d read recently—works by Philip K. Dick, Octavia Butler, Kim Stanley Robinson. They posed philosophical and social questions that seemed to me to resemble thought experiments in philosophy. That sparked the idea for the class: Why not pair formal thought experiments in philosophy with science fiction? Of course, there are hundreds of formally recognized thought experiments in philosophy, so I had to narrow down this idea. As I sorted through the work of science fiction writers that I felt capable of teaching, I found that freedom was a recurring theme. By the way, this process of narrowing actually resembles how a lot of writing happens: a vague idea or insight sets a writer on a meandering path until they arrive at a story or argument. In this case, that end point was a syllabus for an undergraduate literature class.
OCW: What has the “Speculative Thought Experiment” assignment revealed about student learning in the course?
Ben Mangrum: Students intuited many of the conventions of philosophical thought experiments simply by reading and debating them. At times, I would point out features of thought experiments, but I didn’t provide a general anatomy of the thought experiment genre. The fact that students picked up on the genre’s conventions tells me (among many other things) that in-depth reading and discussion have a lot of cognitive benefits that other modes of learning can’t always capture.
OCW: Your course policy on the use of AI is extensive and detailed. How did you develop that policy, and how is it likely to change in the future given ongoing developments in the technology?
Ben Mangrum: My policy on AI has changed every semester since the release of the first publicly available LLMs. I think it’s important for instructors to take stock of their policies on this issue every semester. We should also assess our teaching and learning goals accordingly. At present, I am giving assignments that ask students to sharpen cognitive skills that an AI could emulate but that students simply wouldn’t gain or develop if they offloaded the assignments to an AI. At the time of developing the Science Fiction class, I asked myself similar questions: Beyond certain concepts and ideas, what do I want students to gain from this class? What kinds of thinking do I want them to do? Asking those kinds of questions led me to a certain AI policy then, but the same questions lead to different answers as the technology evolves.
OCW: How has your near-total ban on students’ use of electronic devices in the classroom worked in practice? What kind of feedback have you received from students about it?
Ben Mangrum: It’s wonderful. I’ve had this ban on electronic devices for years, and I’ve never had a student complain to me or in class evaluations at the end of the semester. I recognize that this ban doesn’t work for every subject, but I would highly recommend it for any instructor who can implement such a policy. Students are more engaged when they don’t have a laptop open in front of them.
Assessment
Grade Breakdown
The students’ grades were based on the following activities:
- 20% Engagement
- 35% Two close reading essays (17.5% each)
- 30% Two content exams (15% each)
- 15% Speculative thought experiment
Curriculum Information
Prerequisites
None
Requirements Satisfied
Offered
The general subject 21L.434 Science Fiction is offered most years, taught by different instructors and with the thematic focus changing from year to year. This specific course, 21L.434 The Science Fiction of Freedom, was taught for the first time in the fall semester of 2024.
Student Information
Enrollment
Fewer than 10 students
Breakdown by Year
Mostly juniors and seniors
Breakdown by Major
Students in the course came from a variety of STEM disciplines.
Typical Student Background
A few had read extensively in science fiction, although none had encountered the philosophical work assigned in the class. In an informal survey at the beginning of the semester, most students indicated that they were interested in the class because of the conversation it posed between philosophy and literature.
How Student Time Was Spent
During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:
In Class
Met 2 times per week for 1.5 hour per session; 26 sessions total; mandatory attendance.
Out of Class
Outside of class, students completed assigned readings, wrote two essays and a speculative thought experiment, and studied for the two content exams.
