Fridays 9 – 11:50 AM Office Hours: Fridays 12-1 PM @ K’s Coffee
Class Code: 23890 Email: ericgerlach@gmail.com
Room: BCC 54 Blog: ericgerlach.blogspot.com
Modern European Philosophy Syllabus & Class Schedule
Course Description
This course introduces students to the history of modern European philosophy. We will study European philosophers from the Enlightenment to Postmodernism focusing on their core influential ideas.
Required Texts
The only text for the class is the Course Reader, available at Lazer Image, 61 Shattuck Square, Berkeley, (510) 644-3339. A copy of the reader will be put on reserve in the BCC Library.
Required Assignments
Four Response Essays(10% x 4 = 40%), Midterm Exam (30%), Final Exam (30%)
CLASS SCHEDULE
Jan 25 Introduction: Modern European Philosophy, Analytic & Continental
Feb 1 Rationalism: Descartes, Spinoza & Leibniz
Feb 8 Empiricism: Locke & Hume
Feb 15 NO CLASS - Lincoln’s Birthday
Feb 22 Idealism: Berkeley & Kant
Mar 1 Phenomenology: Hegel & Merleau-Ponty (First Paper Due)
Mar 8 Pessimism: Schopenhauer & Kierkegaard
Mar 15 Nietzsche & Bataille (Review for Midterm Exam)
Mar 22 MIDTERM EXAM (Second Paper Due)
Mar 29 NO CLASS - Spring Break
Apr 5 Existentialism: Heidegger & Sartre
Apr 12 Logical Positivism: Frege, Russell & Wittgenstein
Apr 19 Utilitarianism & Pragmatism: Mill, Peirce & Dewey
Apr 26 Philosophy of Science: Popper & Feyerabend (Third Paper Due)
May 3 Structuralism & Poststructuralism: Barthes & Foucault
May 10 Postmodernism: Deleuze & Derrida (Review for Final Exam)
May 17 NO CLASS - Malcolm X Day
May 24 FINAL EXAM (Fourth Paper Due)
This class is acceptable for credit at UC and CSU. It counts towards GE AA/AS area 3; CSU area C2; and IGETC area 3. It can be used as an elective for the Liberal Arts with an Emphasis in Arts and Humanities, Associate in Arts Degree Program and the Liberal Arts: Intersegmental General Education Transfer (IGETC) Certificate of Achievement and the Global Studies AA Degree.
Student Learning Outcomes
Information Competency: understand philosophical concepts and systems
Critical Thinking: evaluate philosophical concepts and argue for and against viewpoints
Global Awareness & Valuing Diversity: understand and appreciate diverse cultures of thought
General Student Requirements
Students are expected to come to class prepared to ask questions and participate in discussions. All readings and assignments should be completed by the beginning of class on the day they are discussed. This class is run as a lecture/discussion course. Students are responsible for all class material (even if they miss class). It is your responsibility to ask if you missed something; it is not the instructor’s responsibility to remind you. If a student has any extenuating circumstances which may affect full participation in the class, the student must speak to the instructor as far ahead of any due date as possible. All assignments must be completed and all requirements must be met in order to pass the class. You must turn in all assignments (even if they are late) in order to be eligible to receive a “C” grade or higher. There are no exceptions, under any circumstance.
Plagiarism—“[t]o use another person’s ideas or expressions in your writing without acknowledging the source” (MLA Handbook, 5th ed., §1.8)—will not be tolerated. Plagiarists, intentional or inadvertent, will receive a zero on the assignment in question; repeat offenders will get an F for the course and will be subject to college disciplinary action. Students are encouraged to review plagiarism policies in the current Vista College catalog.
A Note on Disabled Student Program and Services (DSPS)
DSPS services are provided for any enrolled student who has a verified disability that creates an educational limitation that prevents the student from fully benefiting from classes without additional support services or instruction. Please let the instructor know if you require any support services or would like more information about DSPS.
The syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. Any changes will be announced in class. Additional handouts of required readings may also be added.
