Philosophy
PHIL 6311 Ancient Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) Study of texts significant in the history of philosophy from the ancient world. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6312 Chinese Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) This course will be an exploration of the major philosophical traditions of China, including Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism. (3-0) R
PHIL 6313 Early Modern Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) Study of texts significant in the history of philosophy from the early modern period, circa 1500-1800. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6314 Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) This course will focus on major thinkers, texts, and movements within nineteenth and twentieth-century philosophy. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) T
PHIL 6322 Continental Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) Study of one or more major figures and movements within the tradition of modern continental philosophy, from mid-nineteenth century to the present, for example, Nietzsche, Heidegger, de Beauvoir, Benjamin, Arendt, hermeneutics, phenomenology, deconstruction. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6323 Analytic Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) Study of one or more major figures and movements within the tradition of modern analytic philosophy, from mid-nineteenth century to the present, for example, Frege, Wittgenstein, Anscombe, Foot, Rawls, ordinary language philosophy, logical empiricism. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6324 American Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) Study of one or more major figures and movements within the tradition of American philosophy, for example, Emerson, James, Addams, Dewey, transcendentalism, pragmatism, process philosophy. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6325 Feminist and Queer Theory (3 semester credit hours) Study of one or more major figures or movements within the tradition of feminist philosophy and queer theory, for example, Wollstonecraft, de Beauvoir, Butler, Alcoff, Nussbaum, Halberstam, standpoint theory, analytic feminism, care ethics. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6327 Modern Jewish Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) Study of modern and contemporary Jewish thought, with an emphasis on the relationship between Judaism and philosophy. (3-0) R
PHIL 6331 Philosophy and Poetry (3 semester credit hours) This course will focus upon a philosophical reading of poetry that tries to grasp philosophy as a kind of poetic thinking. Texts will draw from poets who write in a philosophical register as well as from philosophers whose aim is to offer a new kind of poetic thinking. Interdisciplinary in focus and conceptual structure, the course will consider an approach to the philosophy of language attuned to translation theory, rhetoric, and social-political themes. (3-0) T
PHIL 6336 Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics (3 semester credit hours) A study of philosophical aesthetics and theories of art, including philosophical issues raised by artists, art movements, and individual works of art. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (6 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6345 Philosophy of Emotion (3 semester credit hours) This course will explore of central philosophical questions about the emotions, concerning for example what emotions are, how they relate to perception, cognition, belief and knowledge, their rationality or irrationality, or their connection with moral or aesthetic evaluation. (3-0) R
PHIL 6351 (HIST 6386) History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (3 semester credit hours) The study of one or more topics in history and philosophy of science, technology, or medicine. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) T
PHIL 6355 (HIST 6382) Magic, Science, and Religion (3 semester credit hours) A study of the relationships between magic, science, and religion during the period of the Scientific Revolution, and how these relationships interacted with the development of early modern European culture and society. (3-0) T
PHIL 6356 (HIST 6383) Space, Time, and Culture (3 semester credit hours) The study of the relationship between changing philosophic and scientific concepts of space and time and forms of cultural expression such as art, literature, and music. (3-0) T
PHIL 6360 Philosophical Issues and the Humanities (3 semester credit hours) An investigation of philosophical problems that arise from the investigation of the arts and humanities, such as the nature of interpretation or the philosophy of history. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6362 (HIST 6387) Philosophy of History (3 semester credit hours) This course examines philosophical thought about history in Europe and America from the nineteenth century to the present. Issues examined may include: The speculative philosophy of history; the epistemology of history; the ethics of historical research; historical interpretation and causal explanation; the question of historical objectivity; the linguistic turn and narrative representation; revisionism; history and theory; post-colonialism. (3-0) R
PHIL 6367 (ACN 6337 and HCS 6337) Cognitive Ethnography (3 semester credit hours) Students in this course will learn to observe, document, and analyze cognitive processes in real-world settings using the methods of cognitive ethnography. The course provides the theoretical and philosophical framework of embodied, situated, and distributed cognition and the interaction of cognition and culture that forms the foundation of cognitive ethnography methodology. The course may emphasize the uses of cognitive ethnography in human-computer interaction, system design, laboratory studies, cultural psychology, or media effects. Department consent required. (3-0) R
PHIL 6390 Topics in Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6391 Major Figures (3 semester credit hours) A study of the major works and central ideas of a major philosopher. May be repeated for credit as figure varies (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 6392 Great Texts (3 semester credit hours) An in-depth study of a single major philosophical text. May be repeated for credit as key text varies (9 semester credit hours maximum). Prerequisite: Any previous PHIL course. (3-0) R
PHIL 6398 Independent Study in Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) Independent study that may count toward minimum course requirements of the MA in History of Ideas. Pass/Fail only. May be repeated for credit (9 semester credit hours). Instructor consent required. (3-0) R
PHIL 7330 The History of Hermeneutics (3 semester credit hours) Studies in the history of hermeneutics as a biblical-philological method and its transformation by the modern German tradition into a philosophical approach to language and experience. Focus on the work of Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, and Gadamer. (3-0) T
PHIL 7332 Topics in Recent Continental Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) Close textual study of the works of leading continental philosophers such as Nietzsche, Derrida, Foucault, Heidegger, Husserl, and others. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (6 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 7387 (HIST 7387) Advanced Topics in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (3 semester credit hours) Topics will vary but may include consideration of the philosophical or historical basis for the evolution of scientific thought; the problem of conceptual change in the study of the fundamental character of technology and its impact on culture. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (6 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R
PHIL 7391 Advanced Topics in Philosophy (3 semester credit hours) May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R