Minor in Philosophy

Minor Requirements - US Credits 18 - UK Credits 72 PHL 4100 (3.000 CREDITS) Introduction to Philosophy This course introduces students to discipline of philosophy. It examines various branches of philosophy including logic, epistemolgy, ontology, ethics, political and religious philosophy. It takes a topic-based rather than historical approach, and looks at set of problems such as the mind-body problem, empiricism versus rationalism, and subjectivism versus naturalism. To this end, various important Western philosophers will be considered including Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant & Russell. PHL 5400 (3.000 CREDITS) Modern European Mind This Course examines the development of the European philosophical tradition from the Pre-Modern period, through the Modern Period, and considers some Contemporary philosophical trends. Students will study original texts from thinkers as diverse as Thomas a Kempis, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Sartre, Barthes, Foucault and Butler. Philosophical pairs such as rationalism and empiricism, idealism and materialism, and structuralism and poststructuralism will be examined. The influence of science and psychology on the 'modern European mind' will also be reviewed.

plus ONE of the following

HST 4100 (3.000 CREDITS) When World Collide:Race&Empire 1400-1888 The course follows the expansionist nature of colonial societies from the first contacts with sub-Saharan Africa to the abolition of slavery in Brazil. The overview is the effects these processes had on all the peoples involved, particularly around the growth of the slave trade and the consolidation of slave systems of labour. Emphasis will be placed on the factors involved in colonization and slavery: economic, cultural, racial, and religious. PLT 4100 (3.000 CREDITS) Major Political Thinkers This course provides students with an introduction to political thought and political philosophy, as it has developed in the Western World. The origins of modern political thought and political ideologies are discovered and explored through the study of a range of major political thinkers, such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Wollstonecraft, Marx, Mill, and Nietzsche. PSY 4205 (3.000 CREDITS) Concept & Hist Issues Psychol This course engages students in an overview of the main philosophical, scientific and social ideas that formulated psychology as we know it today. We will cover conceptual and methodological positions underlying different paradigms and research trends in the study of human behaviour. We will examine the following questions: what is science and to what extend is psychology permeated by the characteristics of science; what is the extent of social and cultural construction in psychology; is or can psychology be morally or politically neutral; what can we learn from the history of psychology so far? In addition this course will address the issues involved in acquiring knowledge through various scientific methodologies, the critique of traditional methods in psychology, the relationship between facts and values and the significance of the standpoint from which values are understood. Finally, we will discuss ethical issues in psychology, their origins, the moral underpinnings of theory, research and practice and how psychologists construct ethically responsible practices within a social environment.

plus THREE of the following

COM 5100 (3.000 CREDITS) Language And Society The course examines the way language works in relation to communication and culture. Students study the systematic and structural aspects of language as a base for the exploration of broader questions, such as language and social class, identity, gender, technology, and bilingualism. The variety of languages spoken by students in the classroom provides a unique opportunity to explore language from international and intercultural perspectives. COM 5110 (3.000 CREDITS) Masculinities and Feminisms This course familiarizes students with current debates in cultural and media studies related to the social construction and enactment of gendered identities. The first part of the course explores the impact of feminist politics and postfeminist culture on the spectrum of masculinities. The second part adopts a cross- cultural perspective and considers the influence of global media on consumption practices and social change. COM 5205 (3.000 CREDITS) Cultural Theory This course introduces key thinkers, topics, case studies and theoretical frameworks related to the field of cultural studies. Students will be exposed to different toolkits for analysing everyday cultural practices, with a particular focus on historical, geographical and personal identity. Films, fashion, art, graphic design, video, music and other media objects will be analysed in order to engage with the theoretical frameworks presented. In addition to in-class theoretical discussion, students are encouraged to apply cultural theory in practice, through activities including gallery visits and first-hand explorations of consumerist practices. HST 5210 (3.000 CREDITS) Of Myths and Monsters:History of History The aim of this course is to engage students directly in the study of historiography – how history is written, by whom, when – by studying key issues, ideas, practitioners, methodologies, theories and texts which have shaped the history of history, from its earliest origins in Antiquity through to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A chronological survey of this kind will enable students the opportunity to read key historians while emphasizing a comparative approach which highlights both continuity and change. INR 6200 (3.000 CREDITS) International Relations Theory The theories of international relations are best introduced through a study of the classic texts and debates in the discipline. This course examines most of the theories and approaches to international politics, as well as their historic foundations. It begins with some philosophical debates regarding the purpose of theorising, the importance of understanding ontological and epistemological assumptions and the difference between ‘understanding’ and ‘explaining’ in international relations theory. The course then critically evaluates the grand and middle range theories of IR, followed by a multitude of multidisciplinary approaches to conceptualising global politics and the post-positivist critiques. The course provides students with a set of conceptual and analytical tools in order to acquire a deeper and more nuanced understanding of international relations and global politics. MGT 5220 (3.000 CREDITS) Legal and Ethical Concepts in Management Concentrates on the legal framework within which most business takes place. Topics include corporate problems of raising and maintaining capital by shares; relationships of board of directors to shareholders; respective rights and obligations; relationships of companies to third parties; control and the principle of majority rule. Examples are used of the way statute and judge-made case law has dealt with these problems. PLT 5200 (3.000 CREDITS) Political Economy: Capitalism and Critic This course examines the historical development of political economy, from liberal, mercantilist and radical political economy in the 18th and 19th centuries, to a range of 20th century scholars of political economy. The object of study in the course is theories of capitalism, and addressed themes include the nature of market society, the relationship between state and market, economic growth and economic crises, market failure and government failure, and the relations between capitalism, democracy, authority, and the individual. The course focuses on the study of major thinkers with regard to the capitalist system, such as Smith, Marx, Keynes, and Schumpeter. PLT 6200 (3.000 CREDITS) Liberty Justice Equality: Contemp Pol Th Investigates the central debates and concepts of 20th and 21st century political theory. Through a close examination of key texts representative of the spectrum of contemporary ideological positions, students will become familiar with a variety of key arguments around political concepts such as equality, freedom, democracy and justice. Students will become familiar with central ideas that have shaped political activity in the 20th and 21st centuries and will become familiar key issues discussed in contemporary political theory. PLT 6405 (3.000 CREDITS) Citizenship: National and Global Examines the theoretical, political and sociological conceptions of citizenship. Tracing the development of the concept from ancient societies to the present day, it examines both the theoretical constructs and the concrete political meanings of the term. The course therefore considers the development of the nation state and the establishment of both legal and social citizenship. The course also addresses the notion of global citizenship in the context of international governance as well as the globalization of both economies and environmental issues. PLT 6410 (3.000 CREDITS) Politics Of Environmentalism Examines the political, economic, ideological, and social dilemmas associated with environmental issues. The first section of the course addresses the historical roots of environmentalism, its key concepts, and a range of key thinkers and paradigms for understanding environmentalism as an ideology. The second section of the course explores the role of key actors engaged in environmental policy making, and important issues in contemporary environmental politics. Topics addressed include environmental movements and parties, global environmental regimes, the impact of the media on environmental issues, and prospects for green technologies and employment. PSY 6405 (3.000 CREDITS) Existential-Phenomenological Psychology This course is an introduction to phenomenology and existential psychology, focusing on the works of Merleau-Ponty, Jaspers, Sartre, Camus and Simone de Beauvoir. Beginning with Kierkegaard’s psychology of anxiety and despair, the course covers: the structure of human experience, the psychology of limit situations, embodiment and sexuality, the ontology of human relationships. Sartre’s theory of human conflict will be contrasted with Simone de Beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity. Of special interest is Merleau-Ponty’s account of human freedom and the structure of life choices, as well as Heidegger’s existential analysis of temporality and death. The course also examines the literature of the absurd, in particular, Camus’ existential analysis of suicide and authenticity. The application of the phenomenological method to literature and films is explored and students will be given the opportunity to apply their phenomenological ideas to their ‘reading’ of a selected short film. There is an emphasis on active forms of learning, so that students are expected to read widely, think deeply and participate in class discussions. RLG 5100 (3.000 CREDITS) Comparative World Religions This course explores the monotheistic religions of the Near East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), those of India and the Far East (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism) and the ‘new-age’ faiths. The history and practice of each is studied. Special emphasis is laid on the philosophical and psychological basis of each religion and common themes such as the self, suffering, free will and ethics. Primary and secondary sources are studied along with an examination of methodology in comparative religion.

At least three of the upper division courses required for a minor must be taken at Richmond. No more than three courses may overlap within a degree between a student’s major and any minor.