Joseph A. Zeccardi, Ph.D.
Contact:
215.805.9256
283 Kingston Way, Walnut Creek, CA 94597
Education: Ph.D., Philosophy, 2009, University at Buffalo, NY.
Dissertation title: Aretē and Taste: Toward Virtue Theoretic Aesthetics
Awarded the Perry Prize for Outstanding Dissertations in Philosophy.
Professor Carolyn Korsmeyer, Chair
B.A., Philosophy and English (Writing Concentration), 1999, King’s College, PA.
Thesis: A Sartrean Ethics
Professor William Irwin, Director
Teaching and Research History
2014 – present: Associate Director, Center for Writing Across the Curriculum, SMC
2008 – 2014: Lecturer, Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA
2010 – 2014: Instructor, Carrington College, Sacramento, CA
2011 – 2012: Contributing Faculty, National Hispanic University, San Jose, CA
2008 – 2009: Dissertation Research Fellow, University at Buffalo, Amherst, NY
2004 – 2006: Lecturer, Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY
2001 – 2005: Graduate Assistant, University at Buffalo, Amherst, NY
Publications and Works in Progress
“Aesthetic Virtue: Taste and the Mean” (in progress).
“Isenberg, Arnold” (2014) in Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, 2nd edition, Michael Kelly (ed.), Oxford University Press.
“What Would The Dude Do: Deconstructing The Dude,” (2012) with Hilda Ma in The Big Lebowski and Philosophy, Peter S. Fosl (ed.), Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, pp. 7-23.
“Rethinking Critical Communication” (2010) The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Volume 68, Issue 4, pp. 367-377.
“Marge’s Moral Motivation” (2001) with Gerald J. Erion in The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer, William Irwin (ed.), Open Court: Peru, Illinois, pp. 46-58.
Professional Service
Designated Representative of the Director, Center for Writing Across the Curriculum, Collegiate Seminar Governing Board, Saint Mary’s College, 2014-2015.
Lecturer Representative, Collegiate Seminar Governing Board, Saint Mary’s College, 2013-2014
External Referee, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 2010.
Coordinator, University at Buffalo Graduate Philosophy Association Conference, Center for Inquiry, Amherst, NY, April 2004.
Commentator, “Bermudez on Infant Cognition,” by Allen S. Gehring, University at Buffalo Interdisciplinary Movements in Philosophy, Center for Inquiry, Amherst, NY. March 2002.
Awards and Fellowships
Dissertation Research Fellowship, University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences, 2008-2009.
Graduate Assistantship, University at Buffalo, Department of Philosophy, 2001-2005.
W.A. Kilburn Award for Philosophy, King’s College, Department of Philosophy, 1999.
Conference Presentations, Guest Lectures, and Invited Presentations
“Sustaining A Program, Sustaining Ourselves: The W.P.A. in the First and Second Year”, Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference, Boise, ID, July 2015.
“’If You Want to Lead the People, You Must Learn How to Follow Them’: Collaborative Leadership and Empowerment in the Writing Center”, Tutoring the “Untutored Tongue”: From Careless Speech to Careful WritingConference, California State University,Fresno, CA, March 2015.
“Works in Progress Roundtable” with Tereza Kramer, International Writing Center Association/National Conference on Peer Tutoring, Orlando, FL, October 2014
“In Sibley’s Defense: Aesthetic/Nonaesthetic Use,” Regional Meeting of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, Niagara University, Niagara, NY, November 2005.
“Some Hermeneutics is Local: On Deriving Normative Principles for the Interpretation of Revelation,” University at Buffalo Interdepartmental Graduate Conference, University at Buffalo, Amherst, NY, April 2004.
“Chicken Sexing, Dr. Laura and an Introduction to Virtue Ethics,” Undergraduate Introduction to Ethics, University at Buffalo, Spring 2004, Professor James Delaney; Fall 2004, Professor Daniel Novotny.
“Taste and Aesthetic Judgment,” Undergraduate Introduction to Aesthetics, King’s College, Spring 2004, Professor William Irwin.
“An Introduction to Logic and Argument for Composition,” Undergraduate Introduction to Composition, University at Buffalo, Fall 2003, Spring 2004, Professor Chris Leise.
Teaching Experience
Courses Designed and Taught
Lousy Logic: Upper-division undergraduate seminar examining arguments and fallacies in the media and politics. (3 sections)
Getting Lost: Upper-division undergraduate seminar exploring philosophical, literary and theological allusions in ABC’s Lost (with Hilda Ma). (1 section)
Philosophy of Art and Beauty: Upper-division undergraduate introduction to aesthetics, Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Sibley, formalism, empiricism, etc. (1 section)
Introduction to Logic: Lower-division undergraduate introduction to deductive, syllogistic and inductive logic, covering validity, soundness, fallacies, etc. (6 sections)
Critical Thinking: Lower-division undergraduate critical thinking, writing and analysis course, covering arguments, evidence, meaning, vagueness, ambiguity, fallacies, etc. (2 sections)
Introduction to Ethics: Lower-division undergraduate course on Plato, Aristotle, Mill, Kant, Rawls, consequentialism, deontology, virtue, etc. (4 sections)
Introduction to Philosophy: Lower-division undergraduate course covering Plato, Aristotle, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Russell, Sartre, Searle, freedom, knowledge, empiricism, rationalism, materialism, idealism, etc. (2 sections)
Knowledge and Reality: Lower-division introduction to epistemology and metaphysics covering Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Ayer, Russell, empiricism, rationalism, materialism, idealism, etc. (2 sections)
Courses Taught, but not Designed: Responsible for in-class discussion, review sessions, grading, etc.
English Writing and Composition (online): Lower-division undergraduate introduction to composition, covering descriptive, illustrative, compare and contrast, and argumentative writing styles, pronouns, modifiers, subject/verb agreement, etc. (36 sections)
Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing Across the Curriculum: Lower-division undergraduate course in critical reasoning, reading, and writing across the academic disciplines, formal logic, critical essays, and research strategies that examines and analyzes the structure of formal and informal arguments and ways people use language to persuade. (1 section)
Greek Thought: Lower-division undergraduate seminar covering fictional, historical, political, religious, scientific and philosophical works of ancient Greece. (3 sections)
Roman, Christian and Medieval Thought: Lower-division undergraduate seminar covering fictional, historical, political, religious, scientific, and philosophical works of the period. (1 section)
Renaissance, 17th and 18th Century Thought: Lower-division undergraduate seminar covering fictional, historical, political, religious, scientific, and philosophical works of the period. (5 sections)
Critical Strategies and Great Questions: Lower-division undergraduate seminar covering fictional, historical, political, religious, scientific and philosophical works of literature. (1 section)
Western Tradition I: Lower-division undergraduate seminar covering fictional, historical, political, religious, scientific, and philosophical works of the Western Canon. (3 sections)
Western Tradition II: Upper-division undergraduate seminar covering fictional, historical, political, religious, scientific, and philosophical works of the Western Canon. (1 section)
Western Tradition 102 (Transfer): Lower-division undergraduate seminar covering fictional, historical, political, religious, scientific, and philosophical works of the Western Canon. (1 section)