Please see also:
- AU Schedule of Classes from the Registrar
- Spring 2009 Courses below
Fall 2009 Course Offerings
Philosophy
PHIL 105 Western Philosophy
.001 MTH 8:30-9:45AM Rosen, N
.002 MTH 11:20-12:35PM Rosen, N
.006 TF 11:20-12:35 Gougelet, D
This course is a historical introduction to the Western philosophical tradition. Students closely examine classic and contemporary texts on the nature of reality, truth, morality, goodness, and justice; the possibility of knowledge; faith, reason, and the existence of God; and the issue of freedom and determinism.
.003 TF 9:55-11:10AM Weis, L
.004H TF 12:45-2:00PM Weis, L
.005 TF 3:35-4:50PM Weis, L
Philosophy is concerned with examining the meaning of human existence. This means that philosophy is most interested in the fundamental questions that arise when one attempts to make sense of his or her experience, for example, ‘Who am I and how should I live? What is the meaning of the good, of friendship, of dignity? Is my society a just one?’ Philosophy does not always answer these questions! Often, the most important feature of philosophy is that the activity of asking philosophical questions gives rise to even more questions than answers. In exploring these and other questions we will read and analyze classic texts of philosophy and literature from the Western tradition, we will discuss the meanings of these texts in detail, and you will provide further written analysis of these texts.
.080UC TF 2:10-3:25 Erfani, F
In this course, a historical introduction to the Western philosophical tradition, students closely examine classic and contemporary texts on the nature of reality, truth, morality, goodness, and justice; the possibility of knowledge; faith, reason, and the existence of God; and the issue of freedom and determinism.
This course is a foundation-level course in the General Education Program, Area 2, Cluster 2: "Traditions that Shape the Western World".
PHIL 200 Introduction to Logic
.001 MTH 12:45-2:00PM Stam, J
Basic principles of formal deductive logic, both Aristotelian (syllogistics) and modern (propositional and predicate calculus), with some attention to informal logic also. Text and exercises supplemented by discussions on history, applications, and critical appraisal of different logical systems.
PHIL 220 Moral Philosophy
.001 MTh 3:35-4:50PM Romanovskaya, T
.002 TF 2:10-3:25PM Carr, R
.003LC MTh 11:20-2:00PM Tschemplik, A
The theories concerning the nature of goodness found in Western philosophy. The major discussion issues are traditional principles for evaluating goodness and telling right from wrong; the difference between fact and value; the justification of normative judgments; objectivity in ethics; and the relationship between moral and non-moral goodness.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Traditions that Shape the Western World.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: GOVT-105 Individual Freedom vs. Authority, HIST-115 Work and Community, JLS-110 Western Legal Tradition, PHIL-105 Western Philosophy, or RELG-105 Religious Heritage of the West.
PHIL 230 Meaning and Purpose in the Arts
.001 MTH 9:55-11:10AM Pathak, S
This course focuses on the interpretation of works of art through increased understanding of the artworks themselves, the lives of those who create them, and the societal influences on these artists. In addition to considering premodern, modern, and postmodern criticism of a variety of forms of literary and visual art, students will interpret the oeuvres of particular artists of interest to them.
.002 TF 2:10-3:25 Gougelet, D
.003 TF 3:35-4:50 Gougelet, D
Leading theories of the nature, purpose, and meaning of artistic activities and objects examined through writings of philosophers, artists, and critics of ancient and modern times. Both Western and non-Western viewpoints are considered. Student projects apply critical ideas to particular works in an art form familiar to them.
Prerequisite for General Education credit: ARTH-105 or COMM-105 or LIT-120 or LIT-135.This is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 1, Cluster 2: Understanding Creative Works.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: ARTH-105 Art: The Historical Experience, COMM-105 Visual Literacy, LIT-120 Interpreting Literature, or LIT-135 Critical Approach to the Cinema.
PHIL 235 Theories of Democracy
.001 TF 11:20-12:35PM Raven, F
.002 TF 12:45-2:00PM Raven, F
This course analyzes traditional Western theories of democracy and rights, both separately and in relation to each other, as well as contemporary approaches such as Habermasian, post-modern, feminist, and critical race theory. It also considers the East-West debate on human rights.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Western Heritage and Institutions.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: GOVT-105 Individual Freedom vs. Authority, HIST-115 Work and Community, JLS-110 Western Legal Tradition, PHIL-105 Western Philosophy, or RELG-105 Religious Heritage of the West.
PHIL 300/600 Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
.001 W 5:30-8:00PM Tschemplik, A
In this course we will examine and puzzle through the fragments of the “Pre-Socratic” thinkers, engage Plato’s dialogues, analyze Aristotle’s intricate arguments, and map out the Hellenistic thinkers’ path to happiness. We will concentrate on the development of the following concepts: Logos (Reason, Speech, Definition, Argument, etc.), Psyche (Soul, Animating Principle), and Kosmos.
Prerequisites for PHIL-300: PHIL-105 or permission of instructor.
PHIL 312/612 Nietzsche
.001 Th 5:30-8:00PM Bisticas-Cocoves, M
In this course, we will engage in a close reading of a number of Nietzsche’s texts, such as The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, and On the Genealogy of Morality. We will then consider some contemporary appropriations of Nietzsche’s thought.
Prerequisites for PHIL-312: PHIL-105 or permission of instructor.
PHIL 386/686 Selected Topics in Philosophy
.001 Kant’s Ethics
W 2:10-4:50PM Reiman, J
This course will explore Kant’s ethics, from his earliest essays on moral topics through the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and the Critique of Practical Reason to later works such as Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone. We will look at the relation between Kant's ethics and the rest of his philosophy, and we will consider challenges to Kantianism from feminism and virtue ethics.
.002 Marxism
T 5:30-8:00PM Erfani, F
This course is about Marx and his followers in nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We begin with Marx’s philosophical writings, with a particular focus on the Philosophical Manuscripts and the German Ideology. Adorno, Macuse, Gramsci, Althusser, Sartre Laclau and Mouffe, Derrida, Zizek, Lacan will be the main Marxists we shall study.
Prerequisite for PHIL-386: PHIL-105 or permission of instructor.
PHIL 391/691 Internship in Philosophy
.001 W 8:10-10:40PM Feder, E
Prerequisite: permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 392/692 Cooperative Education Field Experience
Feder, E
Prerequisite: permission of department chair and Cooperative Education office.
PHIL 486 Colloquium of Philosophy: Philosophy and Film
.001 Feder, E
M 8:10-10:40PM on October 12, October 19 and November 2
F 1:00-6:00PM on October 30
The fall colloquium will follow the theme of the 2009 McDowell conference on Philosophy and Film. Selected films and readings will include those the invited panelists will discuss at the conference. Conference attendance is mandatory.
PHIL 498 Honors Project in Philosophy
Feder, E
Prerequisite: permission of department and University Honors Director.
PHIL 520 Seminar on Ethical Theory
.001 M 5:30-8:00PM Leighton, K
.002 W 8:10-10:40 Leighton, K
This course is a survey of the development of ethical theory in Western philosophy by analysis of major works in classical and contemporary moral philosophy. Issues investigated include the nature of the good and the right, the possibility of moral knowledge, the principles of individual virtue and social justice, the problems of ethical relativism and absolutism, and the foundations of modern conceptions of human rights.
Prerequisite: PHIL-220 or permission of instructor.
PHIL 797 Master's Thesis Seminar
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
Religion
RELG 105 Religious Heritage of the West
.001 TF 3:35-4:50PM Schaefer, M
The contribution of religion to Western civilization. An exploration of the religions that have formed the foundations of Western civilization, including: Greco-Roman and other Ancient Pagan Traditions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Unitarianism, Mormonism, and American Civil Religion. Where possible, primary source texts, including the scriptures of the religions, will be used.
This course is a foundation-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Traditions that Shape the Western World.
RELG 185 Forms of the Sacred
.001 MTH 3:35-4:50PM Greenberg, G
Since we live in both the global village and in our own national, but multicultural, universe, some knowledge of Eastern religions can be a real asset. The course covers three major religious traditions: the traditions developed in South Asia which form Hinduism, Buddhism as it developed in India and is transformed in East Asia, and the indigenous religious traditions of China and Japan. Throughout the course, the manifestations of religion in both high and popular culture and religion’s influence on issues of gender, social structure and personal behaviors will be addressed.
.002 TF 8:30-9:45AM Reddy, P
This course introduces students to the complexity and diversity of the major religions of Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. While focusing on the broad outlines of historical development in each tradition, we will explore the forms of sacred, major doctrines and scriptures, religious beliefs and practices. The course strongly emphasizes a comparative approach and examines different ways of understanding religion and how religious traditions developed as comprehensive systems of life in India and China.
003 MTh 2:10-3:25PM Berry, E
This course is an introduction to the methods of studying the history of religions and a brief survey of comparative analysis of major eastern religions and philosophies, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.
This course is a foundation-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 3, Cluster 2: Global and Multicultural Perspectives.
RELG 210 Non-Western Religious Traditions
.001 TF 9:55-11:10AM Reddy, P
The course Non-Western Religious Traditions introduces students to the study of Asian religions and the major religious ideas and philosophical schools that have shaped the societies of Asia in both ancient and contemporary contexts. We ask: What questions have Asians posed about the life-death-rebirth cycle of humankind, and what philosophical and religious teachings did Asian traditions develop as responses to these questions? What are the ways in which the teachings and ideologies in these traditions were put into practice for the cultivation of body, mind and self? In the last section of the course, we will explore how the religions of Asia responded to imperialism and modernization and how they interacted with external religious traditions such as Christianity and Islam.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 3, Cluster 2: Global and Multicultural Perspectives.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: ANTH-110 Culture: The Human Mirror, LIT-150 Third-World Literature, RELG-185 Forms of the Sacred, SIS-140 Cross-Cultural Communication, and SOCY-110 Views from the Third World.
RELG 371/671 Jewish Views of Death
.001 W 11:20-2:00PM Berner, L
In the first part of the course, Jewish attitudes towards euthanasia, the dying process and end-of-life rituals (funeral, burial and mourning rites) will be examined. The second part of the course will focus on Jewish views of resurrection, the immortality of the soul and the afterlife. Students will be introduced to the intricate interplay in Judaism between theology, ritual practice and psychology.
RELG 375/675 Religion and Violence
.001 TH 8:10-10:40PM Greenberg, G
This course explores the religious dimensions, both ideological and cultural, of political and military conflict. Themes include sacred geography and literature as grounds for bloodshed; the sanctity of race; martyrdom/terrorism; and pacifism. Empirical data is drawn from Germany, Lithuania, the Middle East, and the Balkans.
RELG 386/686 Topics in Religious Discussion
.001 How to Compare Myths
MTH 2:10-3:25PM Pathak, S
In addition to surveying themes common to myths from different parts of the world, this course examines five major approaches to the cross-cultural comparison of myths (anthropological, historical, psychological, literary critical, and sociological), and aims to provide students with the historical awareness and methodological knowledge required both to compare myths of different cultures and to criticize constructively the comparative work of others.
.002 Religion and Environmental Ethics
Th 5:30-8:00PM Berry, E
Religious environmentalism emerges from the rich textual, philosophical, and ritual resources available to activists working within and between traditions. With an eye to the beliefs and practices of religious communities, this course explores religious contributions to environmental movements, both in the United States and globally.
RELG 390/590 Independent Reading Course in Religion
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
RELG 490/690 Independent Study Project in Religion
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
RELG 498 Honors Project in Religion
(Open only to students in the University Honors Program.)
Prerequisite: permission of department chair and university honors director.
Spring 2009 Course Offerings
PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 105 Western Philosophy
.001 MTH 9:55-11:10AM Gougelet, D
.002 MTH 3:35-4:50PM Gougelet, D
.003 TF 3:35-4:50PM Weis, L
.004 TF 9:55-11:10AM Weis, L
This course is a historical introduction to the Western philosophical tradition. Students closely examine classic and contemporary texts on the nature of reality, truth, morality, goodness, and justice; the possibility of knowledge; faith, reason, and the existence of God; and the issue of freedom and determinism.
This course is a foundation-level course in the General Education Program, Area 2, Cluster 2: "Traditions that Shape the Western World".
PHIL 200 Introduction to Logic
.001 MTH 2:10-3:25PM Stam, J
Basic principles of formal deductive logic, both Aristotelian (syllogistics) and modern (propositional and predicate calculus), with some attention to informal logic also. Text and exercises supplemented by discussions on history, applications, and critical appraisal of different logical systems.
PHIL 220 Moral Philosophy
.001 TTH 8:10-9:25PM Schmidt, M
.002 TTH 9:35-10:50PM Schmidt, M
The theories concerning the nature of goodness found in Western philosophy. The major discussion issues are traditional principles for evaluating goodness and telling right from wrong; the difference between fact and value; the justification of normative judgments; objectivity in ethics; and the relationship between moral and non-moral goodness.
.003H MTH 11:20-12:35PM Reiman, J
(Open only to students in the University Honors Program.)
In this course, we will read four of the greatest works in the Western philosophical tradition, with the aim of exploring some of the major theories of the good and the just found in Western philosophy. Among issues to be discussed are the moral evaluation of actions and persons; the justification of moral judgments; the possibility of objectivity in ethics; and the relationship between moral goodness, virtue, and happiness. We will read Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Mill’s Utilitarianism, and Mill's On Liberty.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Traditions that Shape the Western World.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: Individual Freedom vs. Authority, Work and Community, Western Legal Tradition, Western Philosophy, or Religious Heritage of the West.
PHIL 230 Meaning and Purpose in the Arts
.001 TF 11:20AM-12:35PM Pathak, S
This course focuses on the interpretation of works of art through increased understanding of the artworks themselves, the lives of those who create them, and the societal influences on these artists. In addition to considering premodern, modern, and postmodern criticism of a variety of forms of literary and visual art, students will interpret the oeuvres of particular artists of interest to them.
This is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 1: The Creative Arts, Cluster 2: Understanding Creative Works.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: ARTH-105 Art: The Historical Experience, COMM-105 Visual Literacy, LIT-120 Interpreting Literature, or LIT-135 Critical Approach to the Cinema.
PHIL 240 Ethics in the Professions
.001 TF 11:20-12:35PM Weis, L
This course provides a framework for thinking generally about ethics, and more specifically about professional ethics. In addition, it addresses ethical dilemmas that arise in the professions of government, law, business, medicine, the media, and the academy.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 4, Cluster 1: Social Institutions and Behavior.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: Understanding Mass Media, Macroeconomics, Politics in the United States, or Global Sociology.
PHIL 301/601 Modern Philosophy from Bacon to Hegel
.001 M 5:30-8:00PM Stam, J
Readings from principal writings of British empiricists and Continental rationalists, and the scientific and political theorists of the 17th and 18th century through Kant. Discussion of background to modernity and post-Kantian directions in philosophy.
Prerequisites for PHIL-300: PHIL-105 or permission of instructor.
Note for both PHIL-300 and PHIL-600: PHIL-300 or PHIL-600, respectively, is recommended, but not required.
PHIL 311/611 Hegel: Phenomenology of Spirit
.001 T 5:30-8:00PM Bisticas-Cocoves, M
This course will be a close reading of G.W.F. Hegel’s 1807 Phenomenology of Spirit.
Prerequisite for PHIL-316: PHIL-105 or permission of instructor.
PHIL 311/611 Kant, Hegel, and Marx on Justice
.002 W 2:10-4:50PM Reiman, J
Kant applied his ethical theory to the state, law and justice in his Metaphysics of Morals: The Metaphysical Principles of Justice. Hegel found Kant’s approach abstract and ahistorical, and thus responded with his Philosophy of Right, which aimed to show how concrete notions of the state, law and justice developed from actual social practices. Both Kant and Hegel, in their different ways, end up justifying a modern liberal republic. Marx, who was sympathetic to Kant’s ideals and to Hegel’s historical approach, criticized both of them for providing ideological cover for exploitative capitalism. In this course, we will read Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals: The Metaphysical Principles of Justice and Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, as well as a number of essays by Marx critiquing the two. Students should note that these books of Kant’s and Hegel’s are difficult philosophical texts. Thus, students registering for this course should be prepared to devote considerable time to careful reading.
Prerequisite for PHIL-316: PHIL-105 or permission of instructor.
PHIL 311/611 Existentialism
.003 W 5:30-8:00PM Erfani, F
This course focuses on 19th and 20th century existentialism, with a particular emphasis on the role of imagination in creating one’s identity. We will read philosophical works by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Heidegger and de Beauvoir, as well as literary works by Camus, Dostoyevsky and also Sartre.
Prerequisite for PHIL-316: PHIL-105 or permission of instructor.
PHIL 386 Senior Seminar: Ressentiment
.001 W 11:20-2:00PM Feder, E
The aim of the Senior Seminar is to provide a capstone experience for majors in Philosophy. This semester we will engage in a close reading of Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morality to understand his concept of ressentiment before turning to its ongoing relevance in contemporary thought.
Prerequisite: PHIL-105 or permission of instructor.
PHIL 391/691 Internship in Philosophy
Feder, E
Prerequisite: permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 392/692 Cooperative Education Field Experience
Feder, E
Prerequisite: permission of department chair and Cooperative Education office.
PHIL 486 Colloquium of Philosophy: Philosophy and Film
.002 T 8:10-10:40PM Oliver, A
(Meets January 27 – February 24)
In this colloquium, we will do philosophy while going to the movies. We will pair appropriate readings by selected philosophers with each film we view and discuss. Topics include surveillance and privacy, political identity, the metaphysics of baseball, and others.
PHIL 498 Honors Project in Philosophy
Oliver, A
Prerequisite: permission of department and University Honors Director.
PHIL 525 Seminar on Modern Moral Problems
.001 M 8:10-10:40PM Gougelet, D
In a previous seminar, we looked at the problematization of the relation between the State and the subject encountered in the works of thinkers like Foucault, Althusser, and Deleuze and Guattari. This seminar will once again take up the question of the State, but will do so from a different per-spective. As moral evaluations, “good” and “bad” have traditionally been reserved for the judgment of character. In this seminar, we will depart from convention and pose the question of whether or not moral evaluations of “good” and “bad” can also be applied to States. To that end, we will begin the semester with an extended foray into Hannah Arendt’s essentialOrigins of Totalitarianism, in which she provides an analysis of the totalitarian state in terms of Na-tional Socialism and Stalinist “communism.” Having looked at the more traditional conception of “bad” states, we will turn to Jacques Derrida’s more recent problematization of the concept of the “rogue” state, found in Rogues. Other readings may be added to the curriculum in the future.
Prerequisite: PHIL 220 or permission of instructor.
PHIL 693 Global Ethics
.001 Th 5:30-8:00PM Raven, F
The integrative seminar for the M.A. in Ethics and Peace. Discussion of ethics, ethical systems, and the presuppositions of mediation from a cross-cultural perspective. Completion and presentation of a major integrative research paper is required.
PHIL 797 Master's Thesis Seminar
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
RELG 105 Religious Heritage of the West
.001 TF 8:30-9:45AM Schaefer, M
The contribution of religion to Western civilization. An exploration of the religions that have formed the foundations of Western civilization, including: Greco-Roman and other Ancient Pagan Traditions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Unitarianism, Mormonism, and American Civil Religion. Where possible, primary source texts, including the scriptures of the religions, will be used.
This course is a foundation-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Traditions that Shape the Western World.
RELG 185 Forms of the Sacred
.001 TF 9:55-11:10AM Reddy, P
This course introduces students to the complexity and diversity of major religions of Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism and Daoism. While focusing on the broad outlines of historical development of each tradition, we will explore the forms of sacred, major doctrines and scriptures, religious beliefs and practices. The course strongly emphasizes a comparative approach and examines different ways of understanding religion and how religious traditions developed as comprehensive ways of life in India and China.
.003 TF 3:35-4:50PM Park, J
The course covers five major religious traditions in Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism (its development in India and its transformation in East Asia), Confucianism and Taoism (two indigenous religious traditions of China), and Shinto (an indigenous religion of Japan). We will examine basic doctrines of each religion and discuss different ways of understanding the relationship between life and death, god and human beings, and the secular and the sacred. Also addressed is religion's influence on the construction of gender, national and individual identity, and social consciousness.
This course is a foundation-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 3, Cluster 2: Global and Multicultural Perspectives.
RELG 210 Non-Western Religious Traditions
.001 TF 12:45-2:00PM Park, J
This course examines how non-Western religious traditions function as systems of symbols, how they interact with both indigenous religious traditions and external religious traditions, and how they respond to modernization and imperialism. The first three weeks will be devoted to create a frame to understand religious phenomena by reading selections from The Idea of the Holy and Variety of Religious Experiences and then the class will read selected texts from Asian religious traditions, examine their interaction with the Western intellectual world, and explore their modern transformations.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 3, Cluster 2: Global and Multicultural Perspectives.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: Culture: The Human Mirror, Third-World Literature, Forms of the Sacred, Cross-Cultural Communication, and Views from the Third World.
RELG 220 Religious Thought
.001 MW 8:10-9:25PM Greenberg, G
This course examines the history of Christian thought, according to representative thinkers and essential issues. Thinkers include the Church Fathers (Tertullian and Origen), Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, John Wesley, and in the modern period, Schleiermacher and Bultmann. Issues include the nature of man's relationship to God, reason and revelation, history and the kingdom of God, holy scripture and myth, and martyrdom.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Traditions that Shape the Western World.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: Individual Freedom vs. Authority, Work and Community, Western Legal Tradition, Western Philosophy, or Religious Heritage of the West.
RELG 372/672 Religion in America
.001 TH 5:30-8:00PM Greenberg, G
This course surveys America’s religions beginning with Christianity and Judaism and continuing through contemporary developments of Islam and Buddhism. The course also examines Native American religions, Puritanism, Mormonism, Catholicism, AME, Seventh Day Adventism, and Freemasonry.
RELG 373/673 Hinduism
.001 TF 2:10-3:25PM Pathak, S
This introduction to Hinduism focuses on four phases in the development of this vibrant religious tradition: (1) the internalization of yajna (sacrifice) during the Vedic period, (2) the realization of dharma (righteousness) during the classical period, (3) the diversification of bhakti (devotion) during the medieval period, and (4) the reconsideration of varna (class) during the modern period. Central to the study of each phase will be close readings of selections from its main mythological and philosophical texts.
RELG 390/590 Independent Reading Course in Religion
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
RELG 490/690 Independent Study Project in Religion
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
RELG 498 Honors Project in Religion
(Open only to students in the University Honors Program.)
Prerequisite: permission of department chair and university honors director.
Previous Course Brochures:
Fall 2008 Spring 2008 Fall 2007 Spring 2007
Fall 2006 Spring 2006 Fall 2005 Spring 2005
Fall 2004 Spring 2004 Fall 2003 Spring 2003
Fall 2002
