The Magic of Jigsaw Modules

The Science & Fiction Lab aims to propagate humanistic material and methods across the undergraduate curriculum by creating, storing, and disseminating “plug-and-play,” jigsaw modules (JMs). Each JM is a portable, stand-alone cluster of lessons that can be slotted among the other modules of an existing course, like a puzzle piece. The subject matter of the Lab’s JMs derives from the myriad connections between science and fiction. These connections (a) manifest in the literary genre of science fiction, and (b) are brought to light via the analytic framework of fiction-science pattern mapping. Bundled in adaptable, self-contained units, these intersections of science and fiction form a starship that conveys humanities throughout the curriculum, transforming the undergraduate classroom experience.  

Without changing majors, declaring a new minor, or incurring excess credits hours STEM students in JM-adopting courses will have the opportunity to not only interface with the humanities, but assimilate humanistic approaches into their chosen disciplines. This kind of integrative learning is worlds apart from the experience of a chemistry major who, in order to meet a graduation requirement, enrolls in Introduction to Literature—a course that typically will not have been designed to connect with her field. Whether they encounter the JM in a humanities course or a STEM course, STEM majors will gain exposure to the humanities that is not perfunctory, but rather fully entwined with their subject of study.

For example, think about a computer science major who seeks to fulfill a humanities requirement by enrolling in a short stories seminar. She might view this course as a fun distraction at best, or a boring waste of time at worst. But if her literature professor adopts a module on robotics in popular culture, the student stands to gain a new perspective on her own field. She could develop a framework for understanding potential consequences of AI by analyzing chapters of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, and Ted Chiang’s “The Lifecycle of Software Objects.”

Or how about the biology major studying recombinant DNA in his genetics course. He may enjoy the books assigned in his English elective on the contemporary novel, but normally there will not be a salient link between his two classes. Now imagine that his genetics professor integrates a two-week unit on bioengineering in literature. Reading and discussing Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn, or Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, students consider the very technologies they are already studying, but this time through the lenses of ethics, exile, and social justice.

In instances where the JM is adopted in a STEM course, we do not expect that a STEM instructor will temporarily don an English instructor hat. Rather than asking a science professor to teach narrative analysis or literary criticism, the Lab offers her an opportunity to interweave with her own expertise a module that has been developed by a humanities instructor working in tandem with a STEM instructor. A literature unit in a STEM course is not a replacement for a semester-long seminar taught by an English professor. But such a seminar is often not a viable option for many STEM students. Even if a student with an interest in theater can fit a Shakespeare course into her pre-med curriculum, this course is unlikely to thematically integrate with her studies and might end up taking a backseat to her other coursework.

The JM model gets humanistic material and methods into places where they would otherwise not exist. Instead of diluting humanities instruction or displacing humanities faculty, we aim to entrench humanities in other disciplines by making tailored interconnections. This program specifically supports humanities faculty: it provides them with collaborative professional development opportunities, extends their work’s reach into courses beyond the major, and potentially reduces the lassitude precipitated by students’ race to meet requirements despite a lack of interest.

Humanities teaching thus improves for humanities faculty, but it also benefits STEM faculty—whether they are fellows who co-create the jigsaw module, or instructors who adopt it. Just as humanities faculty recognize how their subjects intersect with or manifest in STEM, STEM faculty perceive how their subjects intersect with or manifest in the humanities. The process of incorporating an interdisciplinary approach into her course allows the instructor to turn her classroom into a microcosm that is more reflective of the world outside academia, where very little is siloed into neat disciplinary categories.

The directed interdisciplinarity of JMs is potent: it forms viaducts that enable non-majors to see how literature connects to their lives. The bridges among different fields open access to those who may have heretofore thought that the world of letters is a kind of exclusive, fortified island. We learn by analogy: understanding something new by connecting it to something already familiar. An interdisciplinary curriculum is like a welcome banner, inviting passersby to make their own connections. A possible bonus consequence is an uptick in enrollment: STEM students who have positive encounters with jigsaw modules in their major courses might be encouraged to take more humanities courses—by choice.

Learning for humanities majors improves as well: they see their subject in a new light, and observe how it intersects with other fields—what it can offer to the understanding of other subjects. This will enable them to discover novel applications for their humanistic expertise, which can translate into innovative job opportunities.