Experiment and Experience: Theory and Writing Workshop [5-weeks, $180 Suggested]
Instructor: Andrews | Wednesdays September 29-October 27 | 7:30-9:30 PM ET
We often think of an experiment as something incredibly controlled and objective, following a rigid method, almost the opposite of experience: the lessons learned from the messy, amorphous, embodied living of life. But the two words, experiment and experience, both come from the same root—experior—“to gain knowledge through trial.” Is there really a difference between an experiment and an experience? Has there always been? Would it surprise you to learn that many important scientific discoveries came from scientists’ experiments on themselves (i.e. their own experience of the experiment)? Or to learn that ideas and innovations from literary or artistic experiments have fueled scientific practice? In this course, we’ll look at the history of experimentalism in both science and art to study their similarities, and we’ll investigate just how much of a role experience—of the experimenter, of the test subject, of the scientist or artist—plays in experimentation. We’ll also emulate experimental practices to make our own art and writing that might account for our experiences, disrupt them, or produce new ones altogether!
Readings will be a mix of theory and experimental writing. Each week we will produce in-class experimental writing using techniques such as automatic writing and cut-ups, and there will also be a short optional take-home assignment. We will engage in three weeks of seminar discussions and writing exercises, and two weeks of sharing and discussing our own portfolios of experimental writing made over the course of the class.
We depend on a mix of direct student donations and supplemental donations to make all classes pay-what-you-can. Please pick the pricing tier that corresponds with your needs and that you are able to pay now. If you would like to pay in installments, make your first payment now and make a note on your check-out form. If you would like to donate more later in the term, you can always come back and use the “Make a One Time Donation” button! To use a full scholarship, just pick the $3 tier to cover site/processor fees.
If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, we will work with you to reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.