From Animation to Zombies: The Ethics, (Bio)Politics, and Aesthetics of Defining Life

What is life? This course invites you to probe the definitions of one of the most central terms of human existence from A like animation (or animals, AI, aliens) to Z like zombies. In order to understand and critically examine what constitutes life in diverse cultural contexts and at different historical moments, and how these definitions have been shaping the way various life forms have been treated, we will engage with interdisciplinary perspectives from the sciences, arts, and humanities that will help us explore the ethical, (bio)political, and aesthetic consequences of defining life and its limits.

What is life? 

First Iteration (First Discussion Post):

1) What is life? Write your own definition about what first comes to mind. Write at least 100 words. We will keep revisiting this definition throughout this course. For this first version of it, focus on your initial association. If you have additional associations, add them in a list. Perhaps you can also think of a saying/expression, a euphemism, or a song about life.

2) Think of an image that says “life” to you, find an approximate picture of it online, and upload it here (see FAQ section in the D2L Content “useful stuff” folder for tech help). 

Second Iteration (First Paper):

1) Carefully read the paper instructions in the paper PPT and the syllabus. There is lots of very concrete advice and everything you need to know about the formal expectations. You need to read this information and follow the instructions to succeed on this assignment and the basics are summed up again here. The essay grading rubric, which details how these expectations translate into grades, is attached to this assignment and copied in the D2L Content “useful stuff” folder, where you’ll also find other resources (e.g., about citations) and the bullet point list about what makes a good definition.

2) Content Prompt: Write a definition of the concept "life." Think of it as making an argument/thesis/claim about the concept “life,” not a subjective opinion or a dictionary entry. Your thesis should specify how broadly or specifically you are defining life, e.g. “life for humans is...” or “life as a mammal is...” or “life in x text/for x philosopher is...,” but make sure it is neither just your own private life you are defining, nor a summary or description of someone else’s concept, like summarizing the biological characteristics or describing a philosopher’s point of view (arguments are debatable claims, like saying: “Plant and human life are not much different... here is why and how”).

A good approach would be to argue “life for x (e.g., humans) is... a (e.g., these biological characteristics), b (e.g., this philosophical idea), and c (e.g., this other thing),” where a/b/c each turn into a body paragraph and come from a different angle/perspective. Each of these should be supported by quoted evidence, but remember to pick reputable sources and not inspirational quotes. Use at least one of our course texts for that.

Please note that most definitions of life you have written so far would not be enough, mostly because they lacked concrete evidence, i.e., quotations from reputable sources. The paper is not about “the one, comprehensive and right definition” (we’ve already figured out that that’s impossible), but about going beyond what a dictionary or textbook can offer. You can argue for anything (just like the Jabr article from Week 2 did, but with quoted evidence). Doing that well means that you can sustain the argument in all its aspects with evidence (quotations) and explanations over the course of 1000 words (+/-100).

• Pick one understanding of life for which you want to argue or an argument about the concept of “life” that you want to make. Remember that you will have to say enough about it to fill 1000 words. Think of the task as convincing someone you don’t know of your way of understanding the concept of life. It cannot be so subjective (“life is my family”) that nobody else could possibly be included or convinced and it cannot be so general (“we can’t define it,” “it’s the biological characteristics of life”) or tautological (“life is living”) that it cannot be sustained for more than a paragraph or cannot be supported with evidence.
• In order to convince your reader, you need to give evidence (i.e., quote reputable sources, which can range from philosophy to science to literature... put keywords in the library search catalog & ask a librarian for help to find those) and explain how this specific quote supports your argument. Quote at least one of the texts we have read in class so far in your paper (ideally more and, if you want, also others, but avoid Wikipedia or too many dictionaries; also check your sources and don’t just rely on one).
• Make sure you explain everything well and in appropriate language, and don’t assume that I or anyone in this class is your reader (think of a stranger with no previous knowledge of the topic instead).
• Avoid trying to argue for several understandings and jumping back and forth between ideas. Instead, plan out the structure of your paper: If this is my argument, what do I need to explain and prove for all its components, and which order makes this clearest? Or where do I need to go, and which steps do I need to take to make my point?
• Re-read your own essay, use spell-check, and double-check whether you followed all instructions (quotations? word count? format?... read that section in the syllabus!). Test your argument on your roommate, your mom, your best friend... and share what you've written to get feedback. It can only improve your paper.

Third Iteration (Revised First Paper):

For the rewrite, don’t write a new essay: improve your original one without increasing the length.

• Mark all changes you make in “track changes” mode, with colors, or bold/italic font. 
• Improve what our feedback comments in TurnItIn tell you to and go to office hours/the Writing Center/Think Tank for help. The +5 office hours bonus from paper 1 consultations does not carry over to the rewrite, but you can earn a new one.
• Ask if you don’t know what you should do/change, what a comment means, or how it applies to your paper.

Fourth Iteration (Final Discussion Post):

• Rewrite your definition of life from the discussion folder, taking into account what you learned. Give it some serious thought!
• Reflect on and assess what has/hasn’t changed and how/why. 
• Come up with a creative way of representing your definition of life and what it might look like or mean for the future (of yourself, humankind, the planet). This could be a concept you describe in detail (e.g., a video game, film, podcast, etc.) or something you can make and upload (e.g., image, artwork, song, video, etc.).

The signature assignment is a scaffolded, multi-part project that has students writing, illustrating, discussing, revising, researching, revising again, reflecting on, and expressing creatively their own working definition of life—all tasks that are in line with the course objectives and promote active and collaborative learning. “What is life?” is the core question of the course, and the assignment asks students to engage with this question over the course of the semester in various ways, with an emphasis on writing and interdisciplinary perspective-taking.

At the beginning of semester, they write what first comes to mind for a definition of life and they look for an image that says “life” to them. In class, we reflect on the types (i.e., underlying perspectives) of the definitions they wrote, co-construct a bullet point list of what makes a good definition regardless of perspective, critically analyze a dictionary definition of life, and the students discuss their own definitions and image choices in groups. At the end of this class, they have a first opportunity to revise their definition based on what we learned. As the course progresses and they learn about the nature of concepts and classification systems and how these organize our world, they engage with a lot of different, interdisciplinary approaches to the concept of life that will be different from their own.

In a next step, they write a paper-length, analytical definition of life, in which they draw on research/evidence from three different perspectives of their choice (e.g., philosophical, biological, and cultural) to define life for one particular life form (e.g., humans, ants, trees, microbes…), and which will be revised in response to feedback.  While we are learning more about the definitions of life of and their consequences for different life forms in the course, we are working on this paper intensively through preparatory in-class writing training and peer review, office hours consultations, in-depth feedback, and a substantial revision process.

At multiple times during the semester, students revisit their beginning-of-the-semester definition of life in class, and they revise it in more depth at the very end. At that point, they also reflect in conversation and writing about what has or has not changed about their definition and why, and which perspectives spoke to them the most and the least, and why. In addition, they will have the opportunity to add a creative way of defining life to their writing by drawing on one or multiple perspectives that have become important to them. By creating, for instance, visuals, music, code, meditation, dialog, experiments, plans for activism, games, etc., they will express the perspective they have ultimately taken. These two final pieces (written definition of life and reflection with creative addition) will be included in the e-portfolio.