Philosophy & Religious Studies Degree

PHIL 253. Environmental Ethics. 3 Credits.

The course centers on the way that ethics helps us to understand environmental issues. We examine a broad cross-section of environmental issues from a variety of traditional and contemporary ethical frameworks. Issues include sustainability, animal rights, energy consumption, habitat loss, biodiversity, land conservation, and pollution. Class members will explore such issues through case studies in a context of relevant ethical history and theory. Offered Fall every 3 years. F, odd years.

PHIL 360. Feminist Philosophy. 3 Credits.

This course will investigate theories and major ideas of feminist philosophers. The course may be approached as an historical examination of the different "waves" of feminism, or topically, by considering themes like: women and the body, the feminine and the spirit, philosophy of sex/gender, feminist art, postmodern feminism, etc. Central figures in feminist philosophy who may be studied include: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Simone de Beauvoir, Susan Bordo, Catharine MacKinnon, Luce Irigaray, Audre Lorde, Judith Butler, Donna Haraway, Sara Ahmed, and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. S, odd years.

PHIL 451. Current Topics in Political Philosophy. 3 Credits.

This course provides an in-depth study of the nature of citizenship, with special emphasis on how citizens deliberate collectively and individually. It focuses on questions of rationality, political activism, political education, and cosmopolitanism. Students will read classic and contemporary thinkers, and primary and secondary sources. Repeatable to 6.00 credits. S, even years.

PHIL 355. Social and Political Philosophy. 3 Credits.

This course examines core issues in society and governance: the nature of justice, the limits of freedom, the role of religion, family and pluralism in the modern community, are a few examples of possible topics. Students in the course may examine both classical and contemporary theories of political society. Offered Fall every 3 years (2008). F, even years.

PHIL 371. Philosophy of Law. 3 Credits.

An investigation of the nature of both law and legal reasoning. Study of the nature of law focuses on theories of natural law, legal positivism, and legal realism. Legal reasoning concerns justified interpretation of precedent and statute within the common law tradition. Additional topics dealt with as time allows, encompass such issues as the justification of punishment and enforcement of morality. S, odd years.

PHIL 310. Philosophy of Art, Literature, & Film. 3 Credits.

This course will investigate the philosophical questions pertaining to artistic expression (aesthetics), including the visual arts (e.g., painting, sculpture, and film), literature, and music. Questions that may be explored include: whether definitions of art or beauty are possible; what the relationship between form and substance is in art; whether or not art should be valued as a product or process; how have new technologies affected art and its reception in society; and what role, if any, does art play in politics. This course will utilize representative texts from the history of philosophy, as well as a variety of examples from the arts. The course is repeatable when the course topic is different. Repeatable to 6.00 credits. F, odd years.