PHIL 102R 01. Introduction to Philosophy
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: none
This course is an introductory examination of the basic areas of philosophy, addressing questions like the following: How do we know if an action is right or wrong, and are any actions universally wrong? Is "beauty" really only in the eye of the beholder, or are there objective standards in the visual, musical, and literary arts? What sorts of things exist, for instance, do any non-physical things (such as minds, souls, or spirits) exist? Do we have free will, or are our behaviors and thoughts determined by chemical and physical events in our brains? Is knowledge possible and, if so, how do we know what we know? And is there a genuine difference between reasoning and coercion, between persuasion and manipulation, and how can we tell?
PHIL 200R 01. Philosophy and Race
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: none
Philosophy and Race is a critical examination of concepts of race and issues pertaining to race and racism in historical and contemporary periods. Students will study whether race is a scientific or social category, how race as a concept has functioned philosophically, what racism is, and the role of multicultural racial identities. They will engage historical and contemporary readings in philosophy and in critical race theory and explore the philosophical assumptions behind concepts of race and identity.
PHIL 200R 02. Philosophy and Race
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: none
Please see description above for PHIL 200R 01 Philosophy and Race
PHIL 204 R 01. Philosophy of Women’s Lives
4.00 credits
McHugh, Nancy
Prerequisites: none
Philosophy of Women’s Lives is a course in global feminism that combines narratives of women’s lives from across the globe with arguments in feminist theory to actively connect theory with experience. We will be reading material by Latina, African, Islamic, European, East Asian and Asian feminists as well as African-American, Chicana and white U.S. feminists. Among the topics we will discuss are individual and collective rights, body image, sexuality, reproductive rights, women’s labor various definitions feminism, the role of feminism in cultures, and the future of global feminism. The course will be reading intensive. You will be assessed through quizzes, essay exams, written assignments, and course projects. There are two optional course add-ons: 1 credit Service Learning add-on and a 1 credit Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum. See these descriptions below.
Optional Course Component: Service Learning 100 (SVLN 100)
This optional course component provides students an opportunity to link a service experience to a particular course for one semester hour of credit. The precise nature of the service activity and its appropriate connection to course content are determined in consultation with the faculty member teaching the course to which Service Learning 100 is to be linked.
Optional Course Component: Cultures and Language Across the Curriculum (LANG 230)
Interested in using your foreign language skills to earn extra credit connected to this course and to learn more about the subject matter of this course at the same time? If so, register for the CLAC components offered here. You don’t need to be fluent in the language to exercise this option. In fact, you need only to have completed two credits beyond 112 or to be currently enrolled in a course beyond 112. Your work will be guided by your professor and by faculty from the Languages Department. The CLAC module is designed for intermediate level language learners.
This course offers a foreign language component or CLAC component in the following languages:
German, Spanish, French
Students who select the CLAC option will complete work in a foreign language that will supplement the work in this course. Students who complete the CLAC assignments successfully will earn 1 credit for the CLAC component.
To register for the CLAC component, you must also register for a one-credit LANG 230 CLAC module listed among the Language Department’s offerings. Meeting times and location will be arranged at the beginning of the semester. Credit for CLAC modules may be counted toward the requirements for International Studies and as elective credit in the Language department.
PHIL 204 R 02. Philosophy of Women’s Lives
4.00 credits
McHugh, Nancy
Prerequisites: none
Please see description above for PHIL 204 R 01 Philosophy of Women’s Lives.
PHIL 304 1W. Knowing Bodies
4.00 credits
McHugh, Nancy
Prerequisite: none
Knowing Bodies is an advanced epistemology of the body course. We will study the role of the body in acquiring and making knowledge by focusing specifically on embodiment through race, gender, sexuality, and ability. We will closely examine the relationships between epistemologies of the body and aesthetics, ethics, medicine, and social action. The course will move between theory and practical outcomes of our epistemological views of the body. For example, we will look at how our epistemological conceptions of ability shape public space and access to public space. We will also look at how the effect of epistemological claims about race generates specific policies about entitlement, affirmative action, and education.
PHIL 310 1W. Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
4.00 credits
Martinez-Saenz, Miguel
Prerequisite: One prior course in PHIL or permission of instructor.
This course is an introduction to the historical method of philosophical reflection and an introduction to the philosophers of a particular period and a particular tradition (ancient Greek to medieval European). As part of the first goal, we will observe the historical nature of philosophical thinking, i.e., the way it develops historically, not by accident but by its very nature. We will trace one tradition of answers to questions variously answered by four particular notions (which themselves are reformulated over and over again): (1) the notion that abstractions (like geometrical figures and the periodic table of elements) are the true objects of knowledge; (2) the notion that it is sometimes very difficult if not impossible to do what you know is good and not to do what you know is bad; (3) the notion that to be real and to be excellent are the same, i.e., that being and goodness are identical; and (4) the notion that the soul is immortal and lives on after the body decays and ceases. Students will take a mid-term and a final exam and write four papers. Writing intensive.
PHIL 312 1W. Contemporary Philosophy
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: PHIL 311 or permission of instructor.
By taking this class, students should 1) gain a basic understanding of philosophical movements in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; 2) gain a greater understanding of the ideas that shaped contemporary philosophy and the context in which those ideas developed; 3) gain a greater appreciation of the diverse world around them and a greater understanding of the extent to which the past shapes the present; 4) improve their written and oral communication skills, gain greater perspective and hone their critical and analytical skills (such as the ability to distinguish between fact and interpretation); and finally 5) nurture intellectual curiosity and skepticism and enjoy having a supportive audience with which to share ideas. Students will be expected to write weekly reaction papers, and four essays of varying lengths (from 4 pages to 10 pages) throughout the semester. Writing intensive.
PHIL 490 00. Independent Study
1.00-4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission only.
PHIL 491 00. Internship
2.00-12.0 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission only.
