For the fifth summer in a row, Dr. Stephanie Jenkins will teach the “Philosophy School of Phish” course—more formally called the “Philosophy of Art and Music”— via Oregon State University’s Ecampus program. Using the band as a case study, the course focuses on themes about the nature and significance of art and music. As part of their required course work, students attend three Phish concerts— in person or via webcast— and conduct philosophical interviews with artists from the Phish community. Learning about theories of art and music experientially helps students actively engage with the philosophical content and learn more about the Phish community.
During the 2018 summer term, students will have the opportunity to participate in a field trip to attend Phish’s three-night run at the Gorge Amphitheater from July 20-22. Students will camp together at the venue. In addition to attending the concerts, students will participate in a “Phish Studies” colloquium, which will feature guest lectures from interdisciplinary scholars researching the band at other academic institutions.
Over the course of the weekend, the students will film their experiences. They will later use this video footage to complete the “Concert Field Notes” assignment requirement for the course. Dr. Jenkins and filmmaker Kelly Morris, founder of the MORE Project and Be MORE Now Films, will collaborate with the students to edit their video submissions into a film about Phish and Philosophy, to be published in the Public Philosophy Journal and circulated throughout the “phan” community.
Registration is now open! To participate in the Gorge field trip, students must be enrolled in PHL 360—offered via OSU’s Ecampus– and the corresponding one-credit lab section, during session three of OSU’s summer term (June 25–August 17). Students who are interested in this opportunity for experiential learning and contribution to faculty research can contact Dr. Jenkins at jenkstep@oregonstate.edu. You do not have to be a current OSU student to take the class.
Enrolling in the lab course will give participating students the opportunity to:
- Collaborate with a professional filmmaker: Kelly Morris, filmmaker and founder of Be More Now Films, will meet with students during the field trip and oversee the editing of the final public philosophy video.
- Engage in communal, experiential learning: With the addition of an on-campus lab credit, students will be immersed in their learning experience together as a class. This is not possible with an online only course.
- Participate in faculty research: The final film will be published in the Public Philosophy Journal. As part of this project, Dr. Jenkins and Kelly Morris will be participating, as invited researchers, in the Public Philosophy Journal Creative Writing Workshop at Michigan State University from May 16-18, 2018.
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