Courses Recommended for First-Years

Philosophy courses offered in the 2019-2020 academic year that are recommended for first-year students

PHIL UN1001 Introduction to Philosophy
Survey of some of the central problems, key figures, and great works in both traditional and contemporary philosophy.  Topics and texts will vary with instructor and semester.

PHIL UN1010 Methods and Problems of Philosophical Thought
Critical introduction to philosophical problems, ideas and methods.

PHIL UN2100 Philosophy of Education
Drawing on classical and contemporary sources, this course will introduce students to a variety of texts that address the philosophical consideration of education, including its role in the development of the individual and the development of a democratic society. Readings from Plato, Rousseau, Dewey, and others.

PHIL UN2101 The History of Philosophy I: Pre-Socratics to Augustine
Exposition and analysis of the positions of the major philosophers from the pre-Socratics through Augustine.  This course has unrestricted enrollment.

PHIL UN2110 Philosophy and Feminism
Is there an essential difference between women and men? How do questions about race conflict or overlap with those about gender? Is there a "normal" way of being "queer"? Introduction to philosophy and feminism through a critical discussion of these and other questions using historical and contemporary texts, art, and public lectures. Focus includes essentialism, difference, identity, knowledge, objectivity, and queerness. 

PHIL UN2201 History of Philosophy II: Aquinas to Kant
PHIL UN2101 is not a prerequisite for this course. Exposition and analysis of the metaphysics, epistemology, and natural philosophy of the major philosophers from Aquinas through Kant. Authors include Aquinas, Galileo, Gassendi, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. 

PHIL UN2301 History of Philosophy III: Kant- Nietzsche
Exposition and analysis of major texts and figures in European philosophy since Kant. Authors include Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche.

PHIL UN2685: Introduction to Philosophy of Language
This course gives students an introduction to various topics in the Philosophy of Language.