Document Type
Syllabus
Publication Date
Fall 9-1-2024
Course Description
This course aims to introduce the field of philosophy in a way that's explicitly attuned to voices that have been missing or marginalized in the Western canon. The course subtitle is taken from one of our texts, Philosophy for Girls: An Invitation to the Life of Thought - an anthology for college students, where 'girls' in the title is consciously employed in the "Get it, Girl!" sense. This class is for students of any race, gender, culture, etc. who are curious about philosophy. You must be willing to study challenging texts - including but not limited to works considered part of the Western canon - and to think hard, discuss collegially, and write extensively about the difficult questions they raise concerning knowledge, reality, ethics, and society. The relevance (or non-relevance) of social identities, structures, and power relations to such questions will be a recurring theme. We’ll be asking: How might it matter that most of the influential works now taught in Philosophy departments were produced by white European men? Why is the discipline of philosophy still so overwhelmingly white and predominantly male in 2024, when other humanities fields have achieved gender parity and become more racially and culturally diverse? And what can we learn about the nature and value of philosophy by specifically seeking out work by those whose voices tended (until quite recently) to be silenced, ignored, or excluded?
Recommended Citation
Everett, Jennifer, "PHIL 101C Introduction to Philosophy: Get it, Girl! Everett Fall 2024" (2024). All Course Syllabi. 636, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/records_syllabi/636
Student Outcomes
State some central philosophical questions and describe some of the main answers to those questions that have been proposed. Analyze philosophical arguments, identifying important strengths and weaknesses in those arguments. Develop their own views on important philosophical questions and defend those views in both speech and writing.