Contemporary Philosophy-Phil 3701

Term: Fall '07

Class Meetings:  T/R  12.00-1.15; G-127

Individuals with disabilities who need to request accommodations should contact the Disability Services Coordinator, Student Center 214, 678/466-5445, disabilityservices@mail.clayton.edu.

Please refer to the following for important information about the Regent’s Tests:

http://ctl.clayton.edu/Testing%20Center/Assmt_misc/Regents.htm

Course Policies:

Students must abide by policies in the Clayton State University Student Handbook, and the Basic Undergraduate Student Responsibilities.  

Any type of activity that is considered dishonest by reasonable standards may constitute academic misconduct. The most common forms of academic misconduct are cheating and plagiarism.  All instances of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of zero for the work involved.  All instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Office of Student Life/Judicial Affairs.   Judicial procedures are described at

http://adminservices.clayton.edu/studentlife/judicial_affairs.htm.

ITP Choice Policy (Each CCSU student is required to have ready access throughout the semester to a notebook computer that meets faculty-approved hardware and software requirements for the student's academic program. See http://itpchoice.clayton.edu for full details of this policy.)

To set up your computer to receive course email, go to http://thehub.clayton.edu and select Personal Information, then select Manage Email/Web Space, next select Setup your CCSU Email account, and follow the instructions. Next you will need to configure your notebook to access your CCSU email; select Email Setup and proceed as directed.  Direct any questions you may have to the HUB’s Software Support Services, located downstairs in the Library.  The web address for accessing your CCSU email is http://www.claytonstate.net. The Listserv for this class, by which you all will communicate with each other and with me, is listed below.

Computer Use in This Course:
Student notebook computers will not be used in the classroom in this course. Computers will be required to access course materials and to communicate with your instructor.

Learning Outcomes: 

Critical Thinking:

http://a-s.clayton.edu/campbell/Outcomes/Core/CoreCriticalThinkingOutcomesAreaDMaster.htm

Communication:

http://a-s.clayton.edu/campbell/Outcomes/Core/CoreCommunicationsOutcomesAreaDMaster.htm

 

Mid-term Progress Report

Mid term grades will be issued after the first exam and journal collection and will account for 35% of the final grade.  

NOTE:  Last Day to withdraw without academic accountability is

Instructor: Dr. Todd Janke

Office: A&S-105 D

Phone: 678.466.4718

Email:  toddjanke@clayton.edu

Webpage:  http://a-s.clayton.edu/tjanke

Class Listserv:  phil3701-01Fall07@lists.clayton.edu

Course Overview: The primary objectives of this course are to acquaint students with foundational works and important thinkers of 20th Century Philosophy, to foster individual appropriation of philosophical insights and reasonings.  Success in this course will require a considerable commitment of your time and energy.  You will be doing a lot of reading and writing and rereading.  You will also need to take notes on the readings to help you prepare for the exams.  The papers that you will write and the papers of other students that you will read and comment on will provide immersion in the material that will aid understanding and contribute to success on the tests.  Make sure your journal papers are of the required length, demonstrate thoughtful effort, and are submitted in a timely fashion.  Also, make sure that you engage in comment-and-response dialogue over the various paper submissions.  

RequiredText:  20th Century Philosophy, Baird & Kaufman, eds.

Course Requirements:

40% Electronic Discussion Forum Journal: You will be writing a 1 ½ - 2 page commentary on the assigned reading for each class meeting. These journal entries must be posted (emailed to the class listserv address – see above) PRIOR TO the class meeting at which the reading (on which the paper is based) will be discussed. You must keep a hard copy of all your submissions and organize them for collection and review on two occasions, on the day of the First Exam and on the day of the Final Exam. Add a cover page containing a table of contents and a paragraph or two assessing the overall quality of your journal/discussion list contribution, giving primary consideration to such factors as number of postings, timeliness of postings, length of papers, and quality of the writings themselves.  Assign a rating to your assessment, based on a ten-point scale. 

 

You will also need to bring your individual papers to class meetings, as you will be called on to make brief presentations of your analyses to the class.  In addition to submitting papers, you are expected to read papers submitted by your classmates.  You may demonstrate that you are doing so by commenting on these papers by email response to the listserv.   

 

Your paper may be either (1)  a report in your own words of what the author is saying in the selection, ending with 1-2 paragraphs of personal comment or criticism, or (2) an analysis based on your own formulation of an issue addressed in or posed by the reading.  In a given paper, stay on the track you begin on; do not mix up the methods.  Also, stay focused and do not ramble over multiple issues or topics.  If you choose the second method, you must “close your eyes” to the editor’s introduction and summary; a repetition of what the editor has written is, in this context, tantamount to plagiarism.  As you engage what are challenging and difficult readings, keep in mind that Understanding is the objective and not criticism for criticism's sake.

 

Paper Formatting and Submitting:  Type your paper in Word, in 12 point font, with one inch margins all around and normal double-spacing throughout.  Use the first line or two to identify yourself, your class section, the author’s name, and whether the paper is type (1) Report with Comments, or (2) Open Response.  For example: Janke/Heidegger/OR.  In writing your paper, do not beat around the bush with introductory material.  Immediately and concisely state the issue or question you are addressing and go directly to your analysis.  Copy and paste the Word document into an email addressed to your class listserv, making sure to identify yourself and the paper topic in the subject box of the email.  Do not send your paper as an email attachment!

GRADING

40% Electronic Discussion Forum Journal (15% First exam collection / 25% Final exam collection)

60%  Three (3) in class exams (one of which is the final)

 

Schedule of Readings and Assignments for PHIL 2201

Important Dates:

         First Exam and Journal Collection:  10/4

         Second Exam: 11/8

         Final Exam and Journal Collection: 

 

Week 1

         Introduction

         Husserl, Phenomenology

Week 2

         Husserl, Crisis

         Husserl, Crisis

Week 3

         NO CLASS TUESDAY 9/4

         Heidegger, Being and Time

Week 4

         Heidegger, Being and Time

         Heidegger, Being and Time

Week 5

  Heidegger, Intro to Metaphysics

   Gadamer, Truth and Method

Week 6

         Gadamer, Truth and Method

         Gadamer, Truth and Method

Week 7

        Review

        Exam

Week 8

           Sartre, Being and Nothingness

           Sartre, Being and Nothingness

Week 9

            Sartre, Existentialism Is a Humaninsm; de Beauvoir, Second Sex

            de Beauvoir, Second Sex

Week 10

            Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception

            Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception

Week 11

            Merleau-Ponty, HANDOUT

            Merleau-Ponty, HANDOUT

Week 12

            Review

            Exam

Week 13

            Dewey

            Dewey

Week 14

            Wittgenstein, Tractatus

            Quine, Two Dogmas of Empiricism

Week 15

            Quine, Two Dogmas

            Davidson, Method of Truth

Week 16

            Davidson, Method of Truth

            Review

***FINAL EXAM and JOURNAL COLLECTION: TBA***