All Courses
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24.601 Topics in Moral Philosophy: Kant's Ethics
Immanuel Kant’s ethical theory is the source of one of the most fertile and influential traditions in modern moral philosophy. This is a graduate level seminar in which we will study Kant's most significant ethical works, along with contemporary interpretations.
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4.023 Arch Design Studio I
Climate change learning experiences have tended to be confined within ‘business as usual’ parameters. There has been minimal recognition of the need to engage learners in openly debating and discussing the roots, personal meanings, and societal implications of climate change scenarios that are likely to play out during their lifetimes ... Fumiyo Kagawa and David Selby, 2010 4.023 -- Elementary Studio -- delves into the design of public elementary schools to discuss hope during turbulent times—and, at the same time, exploring and emphasizing the need for change. We will be asking questions such as: How can we employ design as our toolkit for change? Students will be encouraged to choose significant topics such as climate change and/or cultural diversity and explore them through the lens of tactile, playful, multi-scalar, multi-sensory heuristic education. Learning from and engaging with practitioners and scholars such as Thaddeus Miles (Photographer and Community Leader/Activist), Ceasar McDowell (Participatory Action Research/Community Activist and Practitioner), Edwidge Danticat (Award winning Author) and Erin Geina (Researcher and Practicing Artist), students will explore timely and critical discussions through photography, art, planning and writing. Readings from educational philosophers such as John Dewey, Loris Malaguzzi, Maria Montessori and Aldo van Eyck, will be paired with guest elementary school teachers to inform student project proposals. The elementary school program is a rich setting to develop architectural skills and design spaces through site, form, concept, scale and materiality; from indoor reading nooks to outdoor flora and fauna the imagination of students and openness to learning can take flight. Students will learn how to design through various two-dimensional and three-dimensional media and how to ground these ideas and designs through specific oral and written pieces that try to capture and translate the essence of design for the reader/viewer.