General Information
The independent project invites you to get creative and engage with the ethical dimensions of some aspect of science and technology. The project can take the form of a paper, op ed, poster, short story, video, policy brief, grant proposal, business redesign, or series of interviews, among other things.
You have considerable freedom in designing your project. This is true for both the experience that serves as its focal point and the form the project takes. Throughout the semester, you will meet with your teaching assistant to discuss your project, submit a proposal, and workshop your project with your fellow classmates. You will present your project at Fall Showcase, an on-campus poster session and celebration.
You have the option to work in groups of 2–3 if you choose, but you must meet some additional requirements (see below), and the scope and quality of your project must increase with the number of students in the group. If you choose this option, your project will be held to a higher standard, proportional to the group size.
Examples of experiences to base your project on:
- An experience related to or arising from your summer internship, UROP, or job
- An experience related to a project that you’re working on, independent of your summer internship, UROP, or job
- An experience related to recent racial or social justice movements
- An experience based on your role and position as a member of the MIT community
Examples of potential formats:
- A virtual museum exhibit illuminating an ethical issue
- A short film or vlog documenting and analyzing an ethical issue or making the case for an ethical intervention
- A proposal for a new business/research/social model for addressing an ethical issue
- A grant proposal to the NSF or a private foundation proposing a new program aimed at improving research ethics
- A policy brief for a lawmaker proposing a new policy to address an ethical issue
- A short story, play, or film, graphic/comic book, zine, or chapbook illustrating and analyzing an ethical issue.
- A social/viral media project related to an ethical issue
- A video, board, or card game (or a design for one) related to an ethical issue (e.g., perhaps to form part of a new kind of ethics training for scientists or engineers?)
- A visual or performance art project related to an ethical issue (e.g., perhaps intended for public education?)
- A traditional analytical paper (minimum 1,750 words) related to an ethical issue
- A lesson plan for teaching this issue to a K–12 or early college audience
Four Milestones
#1 Meet with your TA (before the week 5 session)
Schedule a 10–15 minute meeting with your TA to discuss and get feedback on your project idea.
#2 Submit your project proposal (before the week 6 session)
Submit a minimum 250-word proposal for your project containing the following subheadings:
- Project concept: A vivid, concise summary of what your project is, what concepts/themes from the class you plan to apply, and why the project matters
- Contribution and audience: A description of your intended audience or user (e.g., other students, academics, the general public, MIT leaders, government officials)
- Annotated references: A list of at least three complete citations for sources that provide critical context and motivation for your project (for group projects: three citations per person). These can include readings from class. Under each citation, provide a 1–2 sentence description of the source and how you will use it.
Group projects only: In addition to the three subheadings above, your proposal should include a section describing how the group will work together and how each individual will contribute to the project.
#3 Workshop your project with your peers (during week 8)
Come prepared to give a 3–5 minute presentation that clearly articulates the following:
- The ethical question you are focusing on
- Any necessary background to understanding that question
- Which class concepts or tools you are using to explore your question
- Your current thoughts or answers to your question
- Where you would like feedback
#4 Submit your project (during week 10): Every project submission has the following two required components:
A written component:
- If your entire project is in written form (e.g., a paper or blog post, 1,750 word minimum), then your project itself serves as the written component.
- If your project is not in written form (e.g., a website, video, art project, podcast, etc.), then you must turn in an accompanying 500-word statement outlining your project and describing how it relates to your ethical issue and to class themes. Include a link to the project itself.
A shareable component for Fall Showcase:
You will present at Fall Showcase. Some projects may have an obvious shareable component (e.g., if you completed an art exhibit or poster). For other projects, you should create a slide with a summary or a 30-second audio or video clip from your work. You will also have the option to post this online on the Experiential Ethics website. Your shareable component should be uploaded by Week 10.
Group projects only: In addition to the two components described above, you must turn in a minimum 500-word statement explaining in detail what each member contributed to the project.
