Requirements

Class Requirements.  This class will be conducted as a seminar, with the assumption that students will be prepared to discuss the weekly readings.  In fact, in my view, understanding the weekly readings is the greatest challenge of an upper level undergraduate/graduate seminar. 

  1. To facilitate understanding of the readings, students will be given 3 questions with each week’s readings, question that they should use to guide their reading.  All students—even very, very shy students—must be prepared to answer these questions in class (although each student will be allowed to say “pass” twice, without repersussion, given that everyone is human and no student is always prepared.). To prepare these questions, students can write notes and use them as the basis for a response, or for the ill-at-ease, you can even read from a prepared text. (For those who do prepare text, remember that this isn't an essay, but an answer to question, hopefully a reasonably direct and clear answer. So you should not begin with generalities such as: "Since the beginning of philosophy, philosophers have wondered...."). Your answers will be graded, and a record kept of those grades. You can ask to see your own grades during office hours. 30%
  2. To foster group research skills, students, in groups of about 3 will present on the topic of one seminar. Given three people, the idea is that you will be able to do more than merely summarize and report on the reading. Rather, you need to get togetehr, decide what the major readings in the area are (I can help you with this) and then parcel out the presentation according to what you find. So for a "straight" philosophy paper, your group should look at the various papers that were written in response to the paper at issue, and then you should have some views about which objections are good ones, and which ones the original author might easily answer, etc. Each student should hand in his or her portion of the project. Final projects/paper are often based on these initial group projects  30%.
  3. Final Project.  There is great latitude with respect to final "projects". These can be group or singular efforts. The project can range from a purely philosophical analysis of some issue that we have discussed in class, to an overview of a purely empirical area, or (to those with access to lab) experiments to answer some question discussed. Mixing it up is encouraged. However, every student must have his or her project approved at least three weeks in advance of the end of class (we will also discuss the length or extent of the project because it will not be possible to set the standard page limits). 30%.
  4. Attendance for one full day of the More or Less Conference, August 6 and 7. 10%