PHIL 485: Seminar in American Philosophy

Mary I. Bockover
Location: University Annex 104
Phone: 707-826-5752
email: mib1@humboldt.edu

PHIL 485: Seminar in American Philosophy

Syllabus

This is an upper division seminar course for the philosophy major. Our department rarely gets the opportunity to offer American philosophy, so this course presents an option for HSU philosophy majors not usually available to them, and an opportunity for me to teach rich philosophical material that is central to the American psyche in many ways. As a seminar, student involvement will be a predominant part of this course. The subject matter consists of a mix of classical and contemporary writings, and the approach will clearly be philosophical--analysis that entails critical evaluation of the material covered.

TEXTS

Pragmatism: The Classic Writings edited by H. S. Thayer
Pragmatism: A Contemporary Reader by Russell B. Goodman

HANDOUTS

C. I. Lewis

CALENDAR

	Weeks 1 – 8: Classical Pragmatism
Week 1	Introduction to Course
	Introductions in The Classic Writings (by Thayer and Dewey)
	Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Circles” in A Contemporary Reader
Week 2	Charles Sanders Peirce: “How to Make Our Ideas Clear”
	William James: pages 123 – 134 in The Classic Writings
Week 3	William James: pages 135 – 154 in The Classic Writings
	William James: pages 154 – 174 in The Classic Writings
Week 4	William James: pages 174 – 185 in The Classic Writings
	William James: PRAGMATISM in A Contemporary Reader
Week 5	John Dewey: pages 253 – 274 in The Classic Writings
	John Dewey: pages 275 - 289 in The Classic Writing
Week 6	John Dewey: pages 290 – 315 in The Classic Writings and reflection
Week 7	John Dewey: “Does Reality Possess Practical Character?” in A Contemporary Reader
	John Dewey: “Education as Growth” in A Contemporary Reader
Week 8	George Herbert Mead: pages 337 – 358 in The Classic Writings
	C. I. Lewis: pages 361 – 374 in The Classic Writings
	Weeks 9 –13 Contemporary Pragmatism [All Readings in A Contemporary Reader]
Week 9	SPRING BREAK
Week 10	Richard Rorty and Nancy Fraser
Week 11	Hilary Putnam
Week 12	Cornel West and Ian Hacking
Week 13	Stanley Fish and Richard Pourier
Week 14	Stanley Cavell
	Weeks 14-16 Current American Philosophy: material will be made available
Week 17	Finals Week but there is no in-class final examination for this course

REQUIREMENTS

Attendance and participation.
Reading must be done prior to the relevant seminar meeting.
A daily write-up (twice weekly) explaining what you see to be the main contributions of that days’ reading, approximately a page. This will be used to frame important questions for discussion and to make sure reading is done in a reflective manner.
Three philosophy essays, approximately 5 – 6 pages, double-spaced and typed. Each essay must be re-written at least three times before the final version is handed in. Nothing will help you improve your writing skills more than learning how to read and re-write your own work in a critical fashion.
FIRST PAPER: due Tuesday, March 21th on Classical Material.
SECOND PAPER: due Tuesday, April 25th on Contemporary Material.
THIRD PAPER: due during finals week (by 5pm on the day exam is scheduled) on Current Material.
Student Presentations: (1) explaining the view expressed in the readings for that day, and (2) evaluating some aspect of that material. Your write-up will be what you have prepared for presentation that day. This presentation requirement does not exonerate the rest of the class from preparing; it just gives each one of you the experience of teaching on an individual basis.

Return to Main Page