Topic outline

  • Assignments

    There will be a preliminary assignment which the students are required to complete before the course start 4.5.

    The assignment details will be found on this page 27.4.

    • Assignment icon
      Preliminary assignment

      Welcome to the Worldbuilding course!


      The purpose of this preliminary assignment is to tune in the students to Worldbuilding course and also function as a personal introduction to everyone else. I found the basic outline for the task form a book I'm reading at the moment, and I thought this would work perfectly for this year's Worldbuilding course. So I'll just quote the book and give some further instructions after the quote:


      You begin by standing in an open space. The first instruction is to take a step backwards, with your eyes closed, and imagine someone you know and care about from an older generation, such as parent or grandparent. You then step back further again and imagine them as an young adult, picturing their life, their thoughts and feelings, their hopes and struggles. After a minute, you take a third step backwards and imagine their fifth birthday – everyone who is there, the looks on their faces, the emotions in the air. [-]

      For the next stage, you return to your original position and imagine a young person in your life who you care about and feel connected to, like a niece or godchild of one of your own children. Againwith your eyes closed you take a step forward and conjure up their face, their voice, the things they love doing. Then take another step forward and you've travelled 30 years into the future – what's happening in their life, what are their joys and troubles, what is the state of the world around them? Then take a final step and it's their ninetieth birthday party. You picture them surrounded by their own children and grandchildren, their closest friends, neighbours and work collagues. They stand up, slightly doddery, with a stiff drink in their hand, about to make a birthday speech. Suddenly, over on the mantlepiece, they see a photograph of you, and instead decide to tell the gathered group about the legacy you left them: what they learned from you about how to live and the ways you inspired them.

      At this point, the final instruction is to sit down and write out the speech they would give, a memorial to you, their departed ancestor.



      - Roman Krznaric: The Good Ancestor – How to Think Long Term in a Short-term World (p. 66-67)


      And here are my additional instructions:


      1. Use no less than 45 minutes and no more than 90 minutes for the whole duration of the exercise.

      2. You will read the speech to the other as part of your introduction on the first day of the course. The whole duration of introduction & speech can't be more than 5-10 minutes, so keep this in mind when writing!


      The exercise is originally from Human Layers Workshop by Ella Saltmarshe and Hannah Smith from Long Time Project. (https://www.thelongtimeproject.org/). I've usually formed the course program around a loose theme which varies from year to year. Last year it was utopias and this year I thought that it would be time to look more closely into long-term thinking.


      If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact me. Looking forward to meeting you next Tuesday!



      Jyrki Pylväs

      jpylvas@gmail.com

      jyrki.pylvas@aalto.fi

      0405104959



    • Assignment icon
      Course work assignment
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