​​​​​​​​​​​​​Nina Shevzov-Zebrun, MD ​​​​ ​​​OH by appointment
Resident Physician, Department of Pediatrics
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health
JoAnna Mendl Shaw, MFA ​​​​​​​OH TBD
Visiting Adjunct Professor
Trudy Kim, BS​​​​​​​​OH TBD
Course Assistant
Malathi Srinivasan, MD​​​​​​​OH by appointment
Clinical Professor, Medicine
Stanford Healthcare
​
Key Course Information:
Meeting time: Wednesdays, weekly, 6PM - 8PM
First class session is January 8, last class is March 12
Meeting location: TBD (likely Li Ka Shing)
Grading: general university grading or pass/fail,
additional details below (see Course Requirements)
Prerequisites: none
Units: 2
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Course Description
Do you want to deepen your communication skills with patients and colleagues? Are you planning or pursuing a career in healthcare—and also interested in expanding your creative horizons?
Non-verbal behaviors and physical presence play a critical role in masterful interpersonal communication. How our bodies move–the energy we project, the force and speed of our movements–informs how we perceive and communicate. The Stanford School of Medicine and Medical Humanities program invite you to join this interdisciplinary course harnessing core competencies at the intersection of medicine and dance, designed to finesse clinically relevant communication skills through creative inquiry and invention.
Through this course, learners will:
• Explore the concept of “embodiment” through movement-based interactive exercises, video viewings, clinical case studies and lively discussion
• Sharpen skills of kinesthetic awareness, spatial perception and critical movement analysis as shared across fields of dance and clinical medicine
• Improve ability both to read and employ non-verbal, physical “language” in daily communication
• Expand their creative capacities in, and comfort with, movement-based arts and physical improvisation
Taught by faculty/instructors from the School of Medicine, Stanford Healthcare, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, as well as other external guest speakers and artistic collaborators.
Photo credits: Ten Tensions Project, https://www.tentensionsproject.com/uncertainty; photography by: Mateo Salcedo
Required Readings
All readings are available on the course Canvas site. No books are required for purchase or rental. For any readings/videos with direct online links, links are included below in the Course Schedule section. For other readings without direct online links, they are available for free, scanned and uploaded, on the course Canvas site. You will need to have access to a device that connects to the internet so that you can access Canvas.
Journals
Please be prepared to bring a dedicated notebook/journal to every class. We will spend ~5 minutes at the end of each class journaling to synthesize key personal learnings, takeaways, surprises, and/or questions for further investigation. Journals will be personal; you will not be asked to hand them in or share with peers (unless you would like to!). Pro tip: journal entries can be helpful springboards for class projects!
Attire
For all class periods, please wear comfortable, stretchy clothing in which you will be comfortable moving around. Please also wear sneakers or other similar comfortable shoes. No formal dance attire expected or needed. Just be comfy!
Course Requirements
This course is available to take with general university grading (i.e., letter grades), or as a pass/fail class.
In either case, evaluation will be broken down approximately in the following fashion:
• Class participation (= 65%)
Some of the best (and most enjoyable!) learning in this course will hinge on full participation by all students. Active, embodied participation is key to gaining deeper understanding, appreciation of, and fluency with the concepts underpinning Physical Listening. Participation includes engagement with class discussions as well as physical/interactive exercises–to the best of your ability and personal comfort.
Regular attendance is mandatory. If you anticipate being absent, please let one of the instructors know in advance, ideally a week or more prior. Students may have one absence “pass” with no questions asked. If additional absence occurs, it may be made up with alternative work/meeting time. Please note that arriving to class any more than fifteen minutes late counts as an absence, unless previously discussed with an instructor.
Importantly, class attendance will figure significantly into the participation portion of the final grade. Consequently, repeated unexcused absences will result in a lower grade.
Also, of note, since class discussions and exercises will draw on the readings/preparatory materials assigned for that day, readings should be completed prior to the class day for which they are assigned. Please be aware that the readings for this course, although required, are often significantly more technical than the level of discussion we will have in class. We hope you use the readings to establish some context and frame of reference for class discussions and exercises, but please do not worry about technical details or language from the readings–especially with regard to the Laban-related material. Use the readings as “bigger picture” conceptual aids,rather than as compendiums of details to memorize.
• Pre-reading posts (= 5%)
Each week, a new discussion thread dedicated to that week’s pre-work/class preparation material will open on Canvas. Threads will contain ~3 question prompts asking you to respond. Please answer the questions (2-4 sentences each), and post your answers before the thread closes (3 hours before the start of class). We hope this exercise will help guide and simulate your thinking about the preparatory materials assigned.
• Midterm assignment (= 10%)
Additional details below, assignment detailed at end of syllabus.
• Final project (= 20%)
Additional details below, assignment detailed at end of syllabus.
Other Policies
Policy regarding extensions: if you foresee any problems with meeting a deadline, please contact one of the instructors at least one week ahead of time. Extensions will generally not be granted the day before an assignment is due.
Policy regarding the use of electronic devices: you should not need to access electronic devices during class. Please put cell phones away during class to limit distraction (barring any emergent calls, etc.).We will ask you to put devices away if we notice that they are becoming a distraction.
If readings are being discussed and you would like to reference them on a computer or tablet, you are welcome to do so.
Academic Accommodations (adapted from language provided by the Stanford OAE)
Stanford is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for other-abled students, who are a valued and essential part of the Stanford community. We welcome all individuals to our class, regardless of your physical ability to move or mobilize in any one particular way.
Please contact the Office of Accessible Education (OAE) with any questions. Professional staff are there to evaluate your needs, support appropriate and reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Academic Accommodation Letter for faculty. To get started, or to re-initiate services, please visit oae.stanford.edu.
If you already have an Academic Accommodation Letter, please share your letter with us. Academic Accommodation Letters should be shared at the earliest possible opportunity so we may partner with you and OAE to identify any barriers to access and inclusion that might be encountered in your experience of this course.
Statement on Open Discourse (language borrowed/adapted from the CTL Course Syllabus; can be found at https://ways.stanford.edu/faculty/sample-syllabi)
Our mission is to learn from each other. This happens through active listening, expressing ourselves in ways that promote understanding, and reflecting honestly and fairly about what is shared. No idea should be immune from critical inquiry. Indeed, disagreement presents one of the most powerful opportunities for learning.
How we express disagreement is vitally important. Hyperbole, talking points, hostile or dismissive body language, personal attacks, and shaming generally do not advance understanding, no matter how authentic these reactions may feel in the moment. Evidence, sound reasoning, specificity, narrative, and curiosity do. The goal is not to speak without feeling, but rather to mobilize emotion and rigorous intellectual engagement in the service of deeper understanding.
We also have a shared responsibility to promote equitable participation by ensuring that voices other than our own are heard. We often stand to learn the most by hearing from people whose experiences, identities, and ideas are different from our own, or different from what appears to be the dominant position in the room. Even when you are convinced a position is wrong, considering how and why it is held by others helps advance understanding.
Lastly, despite our best efforts, all of us may speak in ways that we regret on reflection, including me. These are opportunities for growth if we greet them with humility and compassion, rather than defensiveness and condemnation.
We embrace the diversity of perspectives that comprise the Stanford educational community, and are excited and honored to learn amongst you all this quarter!
Photography by: Mateo Salcedo
*** Disclaimer: please note that this syllabus is subject to change during the semester. Students will be alerted in class to changes in the schedule or any assignments. If you are absent for a class, please be sure to check Canvas to see if there are any updates you might have missed
Course Schedule
January 8, 2025: Module 1
Improvisation Bootcamp
Learner objectives:
• Gain familiarity with the concept of physical improvisation/movement improvisation
• Increase experience and comfort with physical, as well as verbal, improvisation
• Articulate diverse examples of the clinical and educational utility of improvisation
Pre-work:
• Complete brief pre-course survey; you will receive a Qualtrics link and reminder announcement prior to the first day of class
Guest speakers:
• Stanford Infectious Disease Physician (+improv specialist!), Dr. Andrew Nevins
Class order:
• Brief course introduction (more formal introduction to come in Module 2)
• Intro to Improv Bootcamp
• Improv Bootcamp with. Dr. Nevins!
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
Excerpt from Dr. Nevins’ syllabus for his separate Medical Improv course:
“In this course, students will learn how improvisational theater skills can improve their ability to communicate with patients and colleagues. Every clinician-patient encounter is to some degree improvised, because clinicians often don’t know who will walk in the room, or what that patient will say or do. Like the professional improvisers you see at places like Second City, clinicians must have the confidence and ability to listen and observe, then spontaneously respond in stressful or confusing circumstances. This seminar will help you strengthen those skills by doing “medical improv” -- a basic improv workshop with an awareness of, but not exclusive focus on, the medical context. The emphasis is on collaboration, discovery, and having fun, so don’t worry about being funny! No previous theater experience is needed.
Specific objectives:
1. Students will be able to listen carefully, compassionately, and effectively.
2. Students will be able to demonstrate effective skills and strategies for difficult conversations cognizant of common pitfalls, deficiencies, and unanticipated outcomes.
3. Students will demonstrate competence in the art of receiving and implementing feedback for personal learning and growth.
4. Students will be able to demonstrate behaving with honesty, integrity, respect, and compassion toward all patients, families, students, faculty, and members of the healthcare team.
5. Students will be able to demonstrate behaving with accountability and dependability.”
January 15, 2025: Module 2
Introduction to Modes of Perceiving
Learner objectives:
• Acquire specific language and conceptual frameworks to describe physical movement
• Articulate diverse examples of ways to perceive physical movement
• Identify personal physical perceptive “styles,” affinities or preferences
• Continue to increase experience and comfort with physical improvisation and “play”
Pre-work:
• View Brene Brown: Empathy vs Sympathy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZBTYViDPlQ
• View the following video: Perception vs Reality - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BL9uRJpTqY
• View “BESS” framework video *** TBD ***
• Answer weekly thread prompts
Class order:
• Introductions and course logistics (formal introduction)
• Overview and discussion
o Modes of perceiving, perceptive affinities (+handout)
o Framework for movement analysis, analyzing perceptive affinities in movement (i.e., BESS = Body, Effort, Space, Shape; Effort = space + weight + time + flow)
• Exercises and explorations
o “Brain Gym”
o “If, Then” – repeat, respond
o “Sponging” – with photographs
o “Tracking” – with objects
• Clinical integration – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9U-r9D6oVw
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
January 22, 2025: Module 3
Space and Spatial Awareness
Learner objectives:
• Describe various ways in which physical space can be “read” for meaning (e.g., proximity versus distance, linearity versus circularity)
• Articulate potential emotional and communicative impacts of various approaches to use of physical space (in clinical or other settings)
• Identify personal assumptions/biases around use of physical space and spatial awareness
Pre-work:
• View the following video: Dance/Movement Therapy - Analyzing Body Language https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw9Y19oNHOw
• Read Ewan and Sagovsky, Laban’s Efforts in Action: pp 2-7, 23-24, 34-48, 55-57, 73-76
• Optional: read Wahl, Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies: Contemporary Applications: pp 127-148 (far more detail on concepts of space, for those interested)
• Answer weekly thread prompts
Guest speakers:
• Stanford Family Medicine physician and former dancer, Dr. Grace Mitchell, DO
Class order:
• Warm up: “Brain Gym” – focus on pathways
• Overview and discussion: spatial awareness, spatial relationships (+handout), concept of spatial/anatomic planes
• Exercises and explorations
o “Name Writing” – different variations
o “Moving to Open Spaces”
o “The Triangle”
• Clinical integration
o Guest speaker: Dr. Grace Mitchell, DO (focus on strategic use of space in a clinic visit, including spatial awareness, negative space, spatial pressure, spatial efficiency, spatial energy, back and side space)
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
o Time to discuss midterm project
​
January 29, 2025: Module 4
Grounding and Groundedness: Getting Grounded
Learner objectives:
• Identify, and personally experience the sensation of, various levels of physical groundedness/weightedness
• Explore the sensation of your body in relationship to gravity
• Compare and contrast the emotional and communicative impacts of various levels of physical groundedness/weightedness
• Identify personal assumptions/biases around perceived levels of groundedness/weightedness
​
Pre-work:
• Read Ewan and Sagovsky, Laban’s Efforts in Action: pp 51-54 (stop at What is Time?), 58-68 (stop at Time)
• Read Moore and Yamamoto, Beyond Words: pp 50-57
• Optional: read Ravn, “Sensing Weight in Movement” from Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices(note: this reading is quite dance-centric, yet informative and thought-provoking for those interested)
• Answer weekly thread prompts
• Begin work on midterm assignment, due February 19th
Guest speakers:
• Stanford Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) faculty, Dr. Jeremy Stanek, MD
Class order:
• Overview and discussion: groundedness and weight-sensing, terminology caveat
• Exercises and explorations
o “Sensing Gravity” – floor exercise
o “Water Bottle” – with music, different variations
o “Hair, Skin, Muscle, Bone”
o “Leadline Counterbalance” – overt vs silent leadership
o “Walking Game” – across the floor
• Clinical integration
o Guest speaker: Dr. Jeremy Stanek, MD (focus on gait assessment as case study)
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
February 5, 2025: Module 5
Time
Learner objectives:
• Provide examples of various physical manifestations of time (e.g., repetition, patience, tempo)
• Relate physical manifestations of time in patient and provider movement to impact/effectiveness of clinical interaction
• Compare and contrast various cultural connotations of, and traditions related to, time and movement
• Identify personal assumptions/biases around time and movement (e.g., connotations of hurried versus relaxed pace)
Pre-work:
• Read this short press release around how perceptions of time may vary with heartbeat: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/981943
• Read Ewan and Sagovsky, Laban’s Efforts in Action: pp 54-55, 68-73 (start at Time, stop at Space)
• Watch these fun brief videos about time from a theoretical perspective:
o Does time exist? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3tbVHlsKhs
o Cultural differences in time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4klDmEViusA
• Answer weekly thread prompts
• Continue work on midterm assignment; reminder: due February 19th
Guest speakers:
• Pediatric Physical Therapist, Lesley Jones
Class order:
• Warm up: “Brain Gym”
• Overview and discussion: manifestations of time in movement (+handout), sensing duration in daily life, diverse conceptions of time, monochronic vs polychronic approaches to time
• Exercises and explorations:
o “Dancy Party” – concept of entrainment
o “Stillness Score” – what is a minute?
o “Start, Stop Walking” – leader vs leaderless
o “Movement Machine” – for rhythm, tempo
o “Name Circle” – sensation and measurement/calibration of tempo, recognizing inputs
• Clinical integration
o Guest speaker: Lesley Jones (focus on the role of time in pediatric physical therapy/safety assessment, adjustment to movement in illness states as case studies)
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
February 12, 2025: Module 6
Touch
Learner objectives:
• Describe various characteristics of physical touch (e.g., depth, location, pressure)
• Analyze personal tendencies around touch as a mode of sensing and communicating in order to promote intelligent clinical application
• Compare and contrast various cultural connotations of, and traditions related to, touch as a form of communication and mode of sensing
• Identify personal assumptions/biases around physical touch
Pre-work:
• Watch this overview of the science of “touch receptors:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF80u3qJkkQ
• Read this Harvard Health Blog post about trauma-informed care: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/trauma-informed-care-what-it-is-and-why-its-important-2018101613562
• Optional: Read Sorokowsa, “Affective Interpersonal Touch in Close Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Perspective” from Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
• Answer weekly thread prompts
• Continue work on midterm assignment, due at beginning of next class on February 19th
Guest speakers:
• Stanford Family Medicine physician and former dancer, Dr. Grace Mitchell, DO
Class order:
• Warm up: “Brain Gym” – focus on touch
• Introduction to session: disclaimers, trauma-informed approaches to topic of touch
• Exercises and explorations
o “Paper Folding/Unfolding”
o “The Handshake”
o “Hair, Skin, Muscle, Bone” – translating sensation to movement, partner work
o “Teaching Through Touch” – eyes closed
• Clinical integration
o Guest speaker: Dr. Grace Mitchell, DO (physical exam, DO training, trauma-informed care as case studies)
o Physical exam videos (e.g., thyroid and abdominal exams)
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
February 19, 2025: Module 7
Experiencing Embodied Thinking: Integrating Fundamentals
Learner objectives:
• Begin to integrate the previously explored fundamentals of movement (space, groundedness, time, touch) into an active, personalized form of embodied perception/communication
• Begin to apply skills of embodied perception/communication to data collection and problem solving in real time
• Experiment with improvisation as a tool for practicing, growing, and trusting embodied perception/communication skills for future clinical application
• Increase personal comfort with perceived risk-taking and “failure” as a critical step in both creative creation and clinical problem solving
​
Pre-work:
• Midterm assignment due at beginning of this class (submit online or in-person); students are also welcome to submit early if they feel so inclined (i.e., assignment can be handed in anytime until this point)
• No weekly thread prompts this week!
Guest speakers:
• Stanford Pediatrician, Dr. Shazeen Suleman, MD
Class order:
• Warm up: “Brain Gym”
• Introduction to session: discussion of creativity and innate fear of being “wrong,” approaches to moving beyond creative comfort zones, “check in” re: comfort with improvisation
• Exercises and explorations (part 1)
o “Sit, Stand” – illustration of subconscious integration/flow finding
o “If, Then” – brief revisit, observed-explanatory/reactionary versions
o “Wall Readings” *** TBD ***
• Clinical integration
o Guest speaker: Dr. Shazeen Suleman, MD (focus on cultural considerations, non-verbal communication in initial clinical encounters with new immigrants and/or refugees)
• Exercises and explorations (part 2)
o “Framing” – with “hat tasks”
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
February 26, 2025: Module 8
Experiencing Embodied Thinking: Embodiment in Action through AXIS DANCE
Expanding perception through new lenses, including a lens of ability/disability/other-ability/new ability
Learner objectives:
• Consider skills of embodied perception/communication through new lenses in order to elevate and broaden the applicability of skills acquired in this course
• Provide examples of diverse approaches to movement analysis, movement making, and movement experience across diverse populations, especially disabled/other-abled populations
• Consider diversity, inclusivity, and other related social issues through an artistic and/or movement-based lens
Pre-work:
• Explore the Axis Dance website prior to class: https://axisdance.org/
• Answer weekly thread prompts
• Start brainstorming work for final project, due March 12th
Guest speakers:
• AXIS Dance Company members
Class order:
• Introduction of class and guests
• Guest: AXIS Dance Company “mini workshop”
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
March 5, 2025: Module 9
Zooming In: Microexpressions
Learner objectives:
• Define the concept of “microexpression(s)”
• Articulate 2-3 roles that microexpressions play in non-verbal communication
• Identify personal microexpression tendencies/affinities and assumptions/biases, especially with respect to cultural differences
• Improve ability to perceive and interpret microexpressions
Pre-work:
• Watch this overview of microexpressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkZ-qSV1PIY
• Watch this non-verbal communication video focused on expression, posture and hands—narrated by a former FBI agent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jwUXV4QaTw
• Take Paul Ekman’s Microexressions test: https://www.paulekman.com/quizzes/micro-expressions-test/?utm_source=linkedin_Sep29.23&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SS&utm_content=me-test&utm_term=FE
• Read excerpts from The Facial Expressions Glossary: Business Version by Annie Särnblad
o Students are also welcome to watch microexpressions videos on Annie Sarnblad’sInstagram!
• Answer weekly thread prompts
• Continue work on final project, due at beginning of next class on March 12th
o If you need an extension, please try to ask by today (one week before project is due)
Guest speakers:
• Microexpressions expert Annie Sarnblad
Class order:
• Introduction to Annie
• Background & Science of Microexpressions
• Pragmatic Research & Teaching Methods
• Key Microexpressions Relevant to Medicine:
o Disgust/Discomfort (The No Face)
o Fear/Feeling Unsafe
o Pain (Physical & Emotional)
o Vulnerability/Compassion
o The Yes Face/Nodding (Patient Buy-In & Agreement)
• Understanding Your Own Microexpressions:
o How They Impact Others
o How to Influence Your Own Expressions
• How to Independently Continue Your Microexpressions Education—Free Resources
• Exercises and explorations
o “Storytelling” – for facial expressions
o *** TBD ***
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
March 12, 2025: Module 10
Frontiers in Embodied Practice
Learner objectives:
• Concretely describe several medical and medical-adjacent applications of embodied perceptive/communication skills
• Articulate how embodied perceptive/communication skills can facilitate flexibility of thought and adaptability of action—both of which are critical in artistic creation and medical practice
• Integrate course content to take stock of personal growth over the Quarter
Pre-work:
• Listen to this Fresh Air podcast from a neurosurgeon: https://www.npr.org/2024/08/05/nx-s1-5061556/for-this-brain-surgeon-the-operating-room-is-the-ultimate-in-mindful-meditation
• Final project due at beginning of this class (submit online or in-person); students are also welcome to submit early if they feel so inclined (i.e., assignment can be handed in anytime until this point)
• No weekly thread prompts this week!
Guest speakers:
• Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Stanford, Dr. Cormac Maher, MD
• *** TBD ***
Class order:
• Clinical integration: Q+A with proceduralists, “Movement in the Operating Room”
o Guest speakers: Dr. Cormac Maher, MD and ***
• Exercises and explorations
o Review of “Sponging” and “Tracking” as useful tools/devices
o “Creature Duets”
• Final discussion, debrief, journaling
Midterm assignment
Consider the concepts of space, groundedness, and time as discussed and explored in class thus far.
Choose one of these concepts and write, draw, move, film, photograph–or create in any other way–on, around, about it. For inspiration (if needed), think about the role that the concept plays in your specific line of work (current or future/intended career, medical or otherwise) or personal life. How can you create a representation or exploration of that concept and its range of “possibilities” or “existences” (e.g., for time, think: fast vs slow, discrete vs continuous, etc.)?
The only “strict” requirement is that this assignment can be handed in for viewing and re-viewing–i.e., no one-time live performances. Students are welcome to submit any sort of file, object, written work, online content, video (including of yourself performing), etc. Anything from a painting to a filmed movement sequence to a voice recording to a blog to a series of photographs to a more formal “paper” will beaccepted.
A few other guidelines to help define project scope:
• If a paper/essay is submitted, we suggest about 2 single-spaced pages, excluding citations.
• If anything other than a paper/essay is submitted, we ask that you also submit at least 1 written paragraph that explains what the project explores, and how you want others to engage/interact with it (think user instructions!).
READ ME: As a reminder, the midterm assignment is worth 10% of your final grade–but, please do not worry. We are far, far more concerned with your experience of the creative journey than with the final product. Please have fun, and enjoy the freedom and purposeful ambiguity of the assignment—even if it might make some of you momentarily uncomfortable, unsure, uneasy. Working through such emotional experiences and ambiguity is part of this assignment—and any clinical medical practice. Reflect on any discomfort you feel, and bring these reflections with you to class for sharing and discussion. The teaching team is also happy to meet with you outside of class hours to discuss creation of this project, or any roadblocks you may encounter.
Final Project
For the final project, consider the following quote by Dr. Richard Selzer (former surgeon and writer):
“You cannot separate passion from pathology any more than you can separate a person’s spirit from his body…the flesh is the spirit thickened.”
Consider the concept of the body as a reflection, manifestation, embodiment of an individual’s spirit–whatever “spirit” means to you. Explore this relationship through whatever creative medium you choose. We hope this is an enjoyable and rewarding project that allows for freedom through creativity.
Just as with the midterm assignment, a few guidelines/requirements to help guide you:
• The only “strict” requirement is that this assignment can be handed in for viewing and re-viewing–i.e., no one-time live performances. Students are welcome to submit any sort of file, object, written work, online content, etc.
• For this project, however, as opposed to the midterm, we ask that you do NOT write an analytical paper; you can, however, create something that uses or leverages written word (e.g., a poem, a short story). In other words, in the spirit of creative risk taking, we ask that you submit something other than an analytical essay for this project.
• Regardless of the medium you choose, we ask that you also submit at least 1 written paragraph that explains what the project explores, and how you want others to engage/interact with it (think user instructions!).
o For this project, in your written accompaniment to your submission, we encourage you to articulate how certain materials or concepts explored in this course informed your creation, and what you hope viewers will take away. This does not have to be an incredibly extensive explanation, but it will aid us and others (if you would like to showcase or distribute your creation more broadly after the course!) as viewers and appreciators of your work.
READ ME: As a reminder, the final project is worth 20% of your final grade–but, please do not worry. We are far, far more concerned with your experience of the creative journey than with the final product. Please have fun, and enjoy the freedom and purposeful ambiguity of the assignment—even if it might make some of you momentarily uncomfortable, unsure, uneasy. Working through such emotional experiences and ambiguity is part of this assignment—and any clinical medical practice. Reflect on any discomfort you feel, and bring these reflections with you to class for sharing and discussion (especially re: how things are different now for you, after completing the midterm assignment!). The teaching team is also happy to meet with you outside of class hours to discuss creation of this project, or any roadblocks you may encounter.
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