courses
TagHow Philosophy Fits Into Your School’s Gen Ed Requirements
What role do philosophy courses play in the general education requirements of your college or university? (more…)
New and Unusual Philosophy Courses
I’ve been hearing about some unusual and interesting philosophy courses that are currently being taught or developed. (more…)
The Guardian’s Undergraduate Philosophy Rankings
The Guardian has published its 2019 “University Guide,” a set of rankings of schools aimed primarily at undergraduate students. The guide includes discipline-specific rankings, including for philosophy. (more…)
Converting One-Time Philosophy Students Into Repeat Enrollees
A philosophy professor writes:
Our department is thinking about ways we can convert students who take one class for accidental reasons (it fulfills a requirement or it fits a time slot) into students who take a few more classes. We’ve talked about a few strategies here, and I’ve looked around online a tiny bit for resources, but I thought this might be the sort o..
How To Structure A Philosophy Major
What should the curriculum of a philosophy major look like?
Specific answers will vary across different types of schools, but perhaps at some level they will have enough in common such that it would be useful to discuss the question in general. (more…)
Applied Philosophy Courses Outside Value Theory
Philosophy departments face increasing pressure to demonstrate their value to their universities. One type of response is to attempt to increase enrollment in philosophy courses. There are various ways to do this. One way is to offer courses that apply philosophy to matters of personal or social concern. The result is a familiar variety of courses in applied ethics,..
Enrollment Caps: How High is Too High?
A philosopher on the job market writes in with a question about course size:
A school that may offer me a tenure line position has a 65 student cap for intro courses, and I would be doing all the work (no grad program, no student graders, etc.). It is likely that I would have have to teach 2 such courses at once during either Fall or Spring, in addition to handli..
Practical Questions About The Philosophy Curriculum
In a comment on a previous post, What’s “Core” and What’s “Peripheral” in Philosophy—and Why?, Brian Weatherson (Michigan) notes that there are “some practical questions that need answering from time to time.” They are:
- Which subfields of philosophy should a philosophy major be required to take courses in?
- Which subfields of philosophy should a PhD student be ..
In-Person Philosophy Courses for the Public
Does your institution offer in-person philosophy courses for the public? The Sydney School of Continental Philosophy (School of the Arts & Media, UNSW Australia) and The Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy (University of Melbourne) do. Courses are run during school breaks and in the evenings, are relatively inexpensive, have no prerequisites and no assessment..