Interested in MAS.700 in Spring 2017? Please read this.

For everyone interested in taking MAS.700, welcome! There’s been a lot of interest in the class this year – one wonders why, as there’s nothing going on in the outside world that makes news particularly interesting or important. I am going to assume that people have simply heard that I’m a style icon and are attending to see my radical and provocative fashion choices.

Not true.

If you’re interested in the spring 2017 edition of MAS.700, here are a few things to know:

– You must come to the first class. It’s from 1-4pm on February 8, in E15-341. (This first class will probably go only 2 hours, but most will be closer to 3 hours with a break.) I will try to accommodate everyone, but there are constraints having to do with the size of the room and the number of assignments I can read each week.

– There is no passive auditing of any of my classes. You’re welcome to participate as an auditor, but I expect you to do the work that any student taking the course for credit would do.

– It doesn’t matter what university you’re from. I’m thrilled to have MIT students – Media Lab, CMS or otherwise – in this class, but I’m equally thrilled to have participants from anywhere in the greater University of Boston. If you’re affiliated with a university somewhere within driving radius of Cambridge, you’re welcome here.

– If I have to limit the size of the class, I will make decisions based on balancing skill sets. This class works best when I have roughly equal numbers of engineers, designers and journalists, plus a few wild cards.

– The syllabus is in flux. I am making some changes today, and will likely keep adding readings as the semester goes on as this is a really fascinating moment in time and some great writing is taking place.

– Most students find that this course requires more work than they expect. There’s three hours of classes a week, and reading will likely take you another 2-3 hours. There’s an assignment virtually every week, and those tend to take a minimum of 4 hours to complete. If that’s going to be a problem for you, please give your seat to someone else who wants it.

Looking forward to meeting lots of folks on Wednesday the 8th.

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