Narrative Curriculum

At the completion of my master’s degree I would like to have the necessary skills and credentials to teach philosophy at the post secondary level. As noted above, the areas of philosophy that I am most interested in are:

Moral Philosophy

Political Philosophy

Critical Thinking and Argumentation

Philosophy of Mind

As I have discussed already in the goals statement, my graduate work should be focused on developing a deeper knowledge of moral and political philosophy. To ensure that I am well rounded and prepared to teach philosophy at most post secondary institutions, I would also like to add courses in logic, critical thinking, argumentation, and philosophy of mind.

The title of my degree, Moral and Political Philosophy is fairly straightforward, but the reason that I am interested in combining these two areas of philosophy instead of concentrating on one or the other, is that I believe that moral philosophy informs, or at least it should inform, political philosophy. Political philosophy uses concepts such as “moral worth”, “moral equality” and justice which are concepts developed in moral philosophy. Therefore, it is my desire to build a degree that combines these two areas of philosophy.

Moral Philosophy: Develop a deeper understanding of the three main branches of moral philosophy; meta ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics.

Courses:

PHI 440 - Ethics (2 credits)

•This class gives students the background in analytical moral theory, covering issues as the sources of moral obligation, objectivism and relativism, intuitionism, utilitarianism, deontology and virtue.

•A woman is walking down a street and a man assaults her causing her to lose her baby, did the man kill a person (the baby)? What if she was on her way to an abortion? I am deeply interested in questions of justice, morality and ethics.

•This course is foundational to moral philosophy

PHI 453 - Person, Identity and Dignity (4 credits)

•Focuses on such questions as: What makes people different from other things in the world? What makes people identical with themselves over time? Do any moral considerations (questions of value) depend on our status as people? No prior familiarity with philosophy required. Combines elements of philosophical anthropology, moral philosophy, and philosophy of mind

•These questions occupy much of my mind’s free cycles. I have a deep connection to nature and I wonder about these things often.

•This course covers many areas that are instrumental to meta ethics.

LNT 599 Independent Study (4 credits) - Possibly in Applied Ethics

Political Philosophy: Develop a more complete understanding of the main branches of political philosophy. Note, that I have already completed the last two courses at UIS for graduate credit.

Courses:

PHI 411 - Feminist Theories (4 credits)

•What would a good society be like? We will discuss a range of feminist theories with different views on the good society, including liberal, radical, socialist, post modern, and global feminisms. These theories offer different solutions to such social issues as the division of labor in the home and beyond, reproductive rights, and sexuality. Through the experience of the course, each student will work to develop his or her own view of a good society.

PHI 436 - Contemporary American Political Philosophy (4 credits)

•Focuses on four late 20th century political philosophies: liberalism, libertarianism, communitarianism, and conservatism. Considers left-wing vs right-wing approaches to social redistribution and individualistic vs. communitarian views of the person as the basis for political theories. Readings include selections from Rawls, Nozick, Walzer, Guttman, and Taylor.

PHI 448 - Moral Values in Political Philosophy (4 credits)

•An advanced inquiry into the connections between ethics and political philosophy, the structure of political theories, and various attempts to justify political principles through moral principles

Lastly, since my goal is to be able to teach philosophy, I feel that I need to be as well rounded as possible while maintaining my concentration in Moral and Political Philosophy. With the idea of being well rounded I think the following three courses would be helpful, and in the case of Philosophy of Mind and Consciousness, fun.

Courses:

PHI 401 - Logic (4 credits)

•An introduction to the use of symbolic methods in the evaluation and analysis of arguments. Topics covered will include Boolean logic, quantification, truth tables and formal proofs.

PHI 473 - Philosophy of Mind (4 credits)

•What is the mind, and how does it relate to the body? This course surveys the major philosophical issues and perspectives on the mind and its place in the natural world, with special focus on subjective experience (consciousness) and mental representation (intentionality)

PHI 495 - Senior Seminar in Philosophy; Consciousness (4 credits)

•The seminar covers an advanced issue in analytic philosophy (selected by the program each semester). The overview for majors involves senior assessment. Those who write on a non-seminar topic complete a seminar examination. Non-majors take the seminar only, with examination. Graduate students will also write a seminar related paper.

Degree Plan

I would to keep my degree plan somewhat flexible and depending on which courses are offered from the philosophy program I may substitute or add one of the alternative courses listed below.

Already Completed: Total 2 courses for 8 credits

PHI 436 - Contemporary American Political Philosophy (4 credits)*

PHI 448 - Moral Values in Political Philosophy (4 credits)*

Spring 2012:. Total 1 course for 4 credits.

LNT 501 Self-Directed Learning (4 credits).

Summer 2012: Total 1 course for 4 credits.

PHI 453 - Person, Identity and Dignity (4 credits)

Fall 2012: Total 2 course for 8 credits.

PHI 495 - Senior Seminar in Philosophy Consciousness (4 credits)

PHI 401 - Logic (4 credits)

Spring 2013: Total 2 courses for 8 credits.

PHI 411 - Feminist Theories (4 credits)

PHI 473 - Philosophy of Mind (4 credits)

Summer 2013: Total 1 course for 4 credits.

LNT 599 Independent Study (4 credits)

Fall 2013: Total 1 course for 2 credits

LNT 521 Liberal & Integrative Studies (2 credits)

(I will consider taking a two courses in fall of 2013)

Spring 2014: Total 2 course for 6 credits

LNT 560 Masters Thesis (4 credits)

PHI 440 - Ethics (2 credits)

Total Credits: 44

Alternative Courses:

PHI 441 - Moral Theory (2 credits)

PHI 447 - Rationality and Moral Choices

PHI 452 - Perspectives on Human Nature

PHI 474 - Feminism Informing Philosophy

PHI 485 - Social Philosophy

PHI 537 - Social Capital and Values

Narrative Curriculum

Appendix

Below is a list of undergraduate courses that I’ve taken that are related to my degree and goal of teaching at the post-secondary level.

Philosophy Courses at UCCS

PHIL 112 - Critical Thinking

PHIL 320 - Politics and Law

PHIL 356 - History of Philosophy: Modern Classical

Teaching Certification Courses at UW Stout and UW Madison

199-605 - Methods of Teaching Vocational Education at UW Stout

199-640 - Instructional Evaluation in Vocational Education at UW Stout

199-502 - Principles of Vocational Technical Adult Education at UW Stout

199-638 - Course Construction for Vocational Education at UW Stout

Educ 465 - Human Relations in the Educational Community at UW Madison

Self Study Philosophy, Political Theory, & Economics Courses

Knowledge Products Courses

Giants of Philosophy

Plato

Aristotle

ST. Augustine

ST. Thomas Aquinas

Baruch Spinoza

David Hume

Immanuel Kant

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Arthur Schopenhauer

Soren Kierkegaard

Friedrich Nietzsche

John Dewey

Jean-Paul Sartre

The World of Philosophy

Socrates

Stoicism and Epicureanism

Confucius, Lao Tzu and Chinese Philosophy

Maimonides & Medieval Jewish Philosophy

Avicenna & Medieval Muslim Philosophy

Duns Scotus & Medieval Christian Philosophy

Descartres, Bacon, & Modern Philosophy

Voltaire & Rousseau

The Philosophies of India

William James, Charles Peirce & American Pragmatism

Bertrand Russell & A.N. Whitehead

Simone De Beauvoir

20TH Century European Philosophy

Political Thought

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson

Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

The liberator by William Loyd Garrison

Wealth of Nations, Part I & Part II by Adam Smith on sale

On Liberty by John Stuart Mill

Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Discourse on the Voluntary Servitude by Etienne De La Boetie

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

The Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau

Reflections of the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke

Rights of Man by Thomas Paine

The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay

Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

Two Treaties of Government by John Locke

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

The Great Economic Thinkers

The Classical Economists

Karl Marx: Das Kapital

Early Austrian Economics

Alfred Marshall & Neoclassicism

The German Historical School of Economics

The Vision of Leon Walras

Thorstein Veblen & Institutionalism

Joseph Schumpeter & Dynamic Economic Change

Frank Knight & The Chicago School

The Austrian Case for the Free Market Process

The Keynesian Revolution

Struggle Over the Keynesian Heritage

Monetarism & Supply Side Economics

The Great Courses

Conservative Tradition

Great Philosophical Debates: Free Will and Determinism

Questions of Value

Philosophy of Mind

Consciousness and its Implications

Explaining Social Deviance

Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the America Constitution

Thinking like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making

Legacies of the Great Economists

Narrative Curriculum

My LNT Committee

LNT Advisor.

Dr. William Kline: Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies and Liberal and Integrative Studies

E-mail:

Phone: 217-206-7418

Office: UHB 3031

Academic Advisors.

Dr. Peter Boltuc: Associate Professor of Philosophy, Director of Graduate Studies

Email:
Phone: (217) 206-7422
Office: UHB 3030

Dr. Roxanne Kurtz: Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Director of Placement

Email:
Phone: (217) 206-8218
Office: UHB 3039

At this point I am not considering having an outside expert or peer advisor.

I don't feel that I need a peer advisor as I am a highly motivated and dedicated student (I've already taken two graduate level philosophy courses at UIS and I had no problem staying on scheduled and completing the courses on time). If later I decide to have an outside expert, I will ask Dr. Mary Cutter, Chair of the Philosophy Department at UCCS to be on my committee.