PAR 202: History of Western Philosophy ll
Dr. Robert Smithson
This course will introduce students to main philosophical questions and themes of the early modern period (from Descartes to Hume). Is there an external world? If so, what is the nature of material objects? How do material bodies interact? How do the material world and the mind interact? Does God exist? The goal is to provide students with a rigorous, non-caricatured overview of the philosophical systems of a variety of philosophers from the early modern period. Students will develop philosophical writing as well as their ability to reconstruct philosophical arguments
TR 2:00-3:15 BR 100
PAR 211: Philosophy of Human Nature
Dr. Matthew Eshleman
The basis of many moral, political, and economic disagreements frequently come down to disagreements about human nature. This course addresses questions like: "Are humans naturally hierarchical, violent, and competitive or are humans naturally egalitarian and cooperative?", "Is race a biologically meaningful category or a social construction?", "How much does biology explain about human nature vs. how much culture explains?", "What, if any, is the difference between sex and gender?", "Can we prove whether the soul is immortal?", "Do humans have freewill?"
TR 9:30-10:45 AM LH 108 &
TR 11:00 -12:15 PM LH 108
PAR 230: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Dr. Jamie Brummitt
In this course we will study Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by examining the relationships between these religions and various technologies. Despite the common assumption that “religion is belief in something,” scholars often study religion as technology by examining the visual, material, and digital cultures of religion. PAR 230 will employ these methods in lectures, readings, and assignments to help you understand that religion cannot be separated from technologies, such as temples, books, statues, objects, images, films, and digital media. We will also explore some of the latest digital data collection methods in religious studies, like radiocarbon dating of artifacts and the preservation of objects.
Hybrid: W 12:00-12:50 LH 108
PAR 242: Religion in America
Dr. Jamie Brummitt
This course introduces you to the study of religion in American history from the colonial era to the present-day United States. It examines the religious practices of Native Americans, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and others by interrogating the relationships between religion, material culture, race, gender, and politics.
Hybrid: W 1:00-1:50 LH 108
PAR 303: Aristotle
Dr. Walter Schmid
Introduction to the study of Aristotle through reading, lecture, discussion, and writing. Prerequisites: none, though previous study in PAR 201 should be helpful. The ffocus is on Aristotle’s ideas about logic, physics, ethics, and metaphysics. I approach Aristotle’s ethics not only as a work of ethical theory, but also as a possible guide for a fulfilling way of life.
TR 11:00-12:15 ONLINE
PAR 322: Ritual Therapy and Health
Dr. Dorcas Dennis
Explores the Caribbean religious and cultural understandings of health and healing, ethnomedical and ritual therapeutics including Ebo healing of Ifa divination in Santeria (Lukumi).We will be asking questions such as what are the therapeutic healing practices designed by religious ritual agents of the Caribbean? The objective is to examine the different health and healing approaches, techniques, and spaces in the Caribbean communities.
Hybrid: W 10:00-10:50 BR 261
PAR 369: Philosophy of Power
Dr. Matthew Eshleman
This multi-disciplinary seminar investigates four questions that concern power relations. First, what is power? Can we give a single definition? Are there many (overlapping) definitions? Second, how should considerations of human nature inform the study of power relations? Are humans naturally hierarchical or egalitarian? Competitive or cooperative? Self-interested or altruistic? Should these qualities be understood as conventional and not natural? Third, how is power distributed? Is power concentrated, say, in the super-rich and/or the political elite? Does democracy promote an uneasy balance of power? Does capitalism tend to concentrate power? Third, how does power operate and what are its effects? What are the primary vehicles of social control: laws, police, economic structures, schools––all the above, something else? What roles do information and disinformation play in reinforcing and altering power relations?
W 3:30-6:15 BR 261
PAR 378: Caribbean Religions
Dr. Dorcas Dennis
This course is a study of religious and cultural diversity within the Caribbean, with a special focus on non-traditional religions and their interaction with established religions and cultures. It studies the history, belief systems, practices and rituals of Afro Caribbean religions as well as their dynamic relationship with other religions and the society in the region.
Hybrid: W 11:00-11:50 BR 261
PAR 400: Virtue Ethics
Dr. Robert Smithson
This capstone class examines the role of the virtues---e.g., justice, humility, compassion, courage, empathy---in our ethical lives. We will examine how the understanding of these moral qualities has evolved across different historical time periods. In particular, we will examine the work of contemporary ethicists who discuss the virtues, such as Alasdair MacIntyre, Iris Murdoch, and Philippa Foot.
TR 3:30-4:45 BR 261
PAR 405: Globalization & Technology
Dr. Don Habibi
This seminar aims to connect the philosophical dimensions of globalization with its political, economic, sociocultural, legal, and environmental consequences. Since the late 20th century, we have experienced unprecedented revolutionary transformations driven by the engines of technology, science, and market capitalism. People, places, and production are now interconnected and integrated in a world that is faster, flatter, smaller, and smarter.This course offers a deep dive into the complex processes of globalization and technology, as we prepare for our uncertain future.
HYBRID: W 6:30-9:15 ONLINE
