Unmanageability: Pathless Realities and Approaches

Image of a full moon rising.

How is art impacted as creativity becomes rationalized and absorbed by managerial philosophies? This course will examine this theme and techniques to access ungoverned courses of life through readings and discussions about cultural theorists, sociologists, educators and philosophers, and through the development of a personal emancipatory practice. (Image courtesy of Steve Jurvetson on flickr. License CC-BY.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

4.S33

As Taught In

Spring 2015

Level

Graduate

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Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

Over the last 40 years, new managerial technologies in Western democratic societies have emerged to dominate our perceived and lived reality. Demands for autonomy and a creative life, which have been the touchstones for artistic endeavors, have been readily absorbed into management philosophies, becoming normative values for self-management and entrepreneurial innovation. Is this art's triumph or demise? Can we imagine other worlds beyond our managed reality and propose forms of living not yet captured by the rationality of network capitalism? We will explore the "creative" figure and how it can shape renewed critical expressions in fields such as technology, design, science, philosophy, etc.

Related Content

Gabriel Kahan, and Howard Chen. 4.S33 Unmanageability: Pathless Realities and Approaches. Spring 2015. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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