Co-Phi

Welcome to an experiment. If X-Phi is experimental philosophy, Co-Phi is an experiment in collaborative philosophy. Conversational, interpersonal, talkative, discursive, mutual. Co-Phi aims to be philosophy that listens and learns.

The William James quote above summarizes Co-Phi's aspirations: to convene a forum we can use to introduce philosophy to ourselves and one another, a forum spanning classrooms and "real world" alike, and in the process to learn more than we would if we continued to follow the "old school" script of sitting silently and taking down de-contextualized lecture notes.

(That's James in 1903, on the left, collaborating with his Harvard colleague Josiah Royce in Chocorua, New Hampshire. I was there last year, ask me about it.)

Initially the experiment involves just my Intro to Philosophy classes at MTSU, Middle Tennessee State University, in the 2011 Fall semester. We'll see if it develops an afterlife in cyberspace and time, or becomes  a template for future classes.

The plan is for students in each class to disperse into approximately five groups, each with a timely focus on specific aspects of our curriculum as indicated by the syllabus. Each group will designate (and perhaps rotate) a "leader" (speaker/secretary/task-master) who will chair discussion and delegate research assignments. Groups will meet for a portion of each class. Group leaders will post summaries of their respective groups' activities in this space prior to each class session, and will give a verbal summary to the entire class. All students will be encouraged to comment in the "replies" space here. All will be expected to propose daily questions for a PowerPoint database.

We'll use those posts, summaries, and questions as our springboards for general class discussion, and as the basis of our quizzes and exams.

Groups will disband and reassemble every three or four weeks, during the 13-week semester.

This is a truly collaborative and experimental exercise. When things work we'll continue to do them, when they don't we'll scrap and improvise. Everyone's input is solicited and valued.

Why do it? For one thing, to test James's hypothesis about the superiority of "social" philosophizing. For another, to begin exploring the mostly-uncharted collaborative potential of the 21st century classroom. For a third, though but this is really primus inter pares, to model and adopt the best new ways of teaching and learning we can devise together. Old ways for the old, new for the young (and young at heart). It may well be time for what Virginia Heffernan calls a "digital-age upgrade" in the way we do things in academia. Or not. There's only one way to find out.

It should be fun, it will be interesting. Let's do it. Class begins on the 29th.