PHIL 399 - Seminar on A Living Philosopher

FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Winter.

Prerequisite: Restricted to philosophy majors or minors with at least junior standing. Philosophy has a long and distinguished history. It is also an amazingly lively and active area of current research. In this seminar, students engage in an in-depth examination of the work of a major contemporary philosopher, including relevant material from other authors. Toward the end of the term, that philosopher visits campus for a few days to meet with students in class and give a lecture open to the university at large. Students have the opportunity to exchange ideas with, and critique the ideas of, someone at the forefront of the field. This course may be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Majors who are pursuing Honors may also chose to take PHIL 399 in place of one of their 10 courses in philosophy.

Winter 2014 topic:

PHIL 399: Seminar on A Living Philosopher: Knowlefge and Identity (3). In the heated debates over identity politics, few theorists have looked carefully at the conceptualizations of identity assumed by all sides. Linda Alcoff’s work fills this gap. Drawing on both philosophical sources as well as theories and empirical studies in the social sciences, Alcoff makes a strong case that identities are not like special interests, nor are they doomed to oppositional politics, nor do they inevitably lead to conformism, essentialism, or reductive approaches to judging others. Identities are historical formations and their political implications are open to interpretation. But identities such as race and gender also have a powerful visual and material aspect that eliminativists and social constructionists often underestimate. (HU) Verhage. Staff.