NonWestern Philosophy	SYLLABUS	Nelson Pole
PHL 255		Fall 2009

MC 307A on TuTh, 10:00 to 11:50

Instructor:		Nelson Pole	RT 1927, use 216.523.7179 for phone mail
	Office hours:		TuTh, 12:00 to 1:00, or by appointment
	Homepage:		http://academic.csuohio.edu/polen/home/
Text: Solomon and Higgins, World Philosophy

GENERAL EDUCATION: PHL 255 satisfies the General Education requirement for an Arts & Humanities course in the two skill areas of critical thinking and writing. It fulfills the sub-requirement for a course that focuses on Asia, Latin America, Africa and/or the Middle East. For students who will graduate under the former GenEd requirements, it is also a WAC course. See the last page for a description of each of these requirements.

GOALS: To understand, discuss and write about philosophy, its central questions and approaches:  If we are all human, are we also all philosophical?  Do we all have views about the purposes of living?  Does life have purposes, or are any that appear "illusions?"  What matters to us and how are those concerns portrayed?  How are the questions and answers manifested within different cultures?  How does a philosopher and his or her views gain authority so that others "take them seriously?"  What importance should we give to our differences?

PEDAGOGY: The human acquisition of knowledge is a cooperative affair.  My job is to make the material accessible to you and to enable you to evaluate your progress.  Your job is to learn the material and to keep me informed of difficulties as they arise. You should read the assignments beforehand to get a general overview but do not expect to understand a great deal of the material.  Come to class prepared to ask many questions from ones merely intended to confirm that you do understand to ones of general puzzlement.  After class, reread the text to grasp the fine points.  And, keep asking whether you should accept, reject, or suspend judgment about the views being defended.  Focus on the reasons for making your choices.

Keep in mind that there is no way will be able to cover all of every chapter.  Much of what we do in class will be driven by your interests in, your comments about, and your questions about the assigned material.

Class format will be lecture-discussion.  I will lecture on general intellectual history leaving many openings for your questions and comments.  What issues confront us and which of them confronted the philosopher?  How different are our worlds?

On a personal basis, I am teaching this course more because I want to learn and study the material than because I am already an expert in nonwestern Philosophy.  We are very much in this together.  It may well be the case that you, or someone else in the class, knows far more about another culture and its philosophy than do I—that knowledge should also "drive" the class.

GRADING will be based on 3 short reading assignment synopses and a comprehensive final exam. For extra credit, students may make a presentation to the class on a particular philosopher or issue.

Western philosophy is a dialogue among philosophers and eras. As such, the worst philosophical sin is to ignore the work of another philosopher. If you disagree, you need to explain why. But, if you agree, you also need to explain why! The sin is to "pretend" that the other does not exist. PHL 255 is a course in Nonwestern Philosophy that is conducted according to Western standards. So, to get the best possible grade, defend not only your own views but also why you accept or reject those of the philosophers covered in class and in our readings.

· Each of the 3 synopses will count for 1/6th of your course grade.

· The final is 2/6ths.

· Participation is the other 1/6th of the course grade.

The 3 reading topic summaries are of 800-1000 words each. You chose the topic, but a synopsis will be accepted only at the start of the first class meeting of the week for which the reading is assigned. State the philosopher, the philosophical problem and the central argument(s) or approaches. Some students may be asked to read theirs to the class. The two synopses may be re-written for additional credit (if it is of at least two-thirds of a letter grade-for example from a B to an A- but not to from a B to a B+).

Essays that have not been at least spell-checked will not be accepted. They will be returned for correction.

Note: On my home page, at http://www.csuohio.edu/philosophy/NPole/CitationStandards.htm, there is a handout that explains special formats for citing Internet resources. The internet posting facilitates following the links used for illustration.

Deadlines:

· Think of the semester as divided into three, 5 week blocks. One summary is due in each block.

· For each block that an essay is late, one letter grade will be deducted from essay's evaluation.

· If the third essay is not submitted before 2:00 PM on the Thursday of the last week of classes, December 10th, one letter grade will be deducted from the essay's evaluation.

· Late papers may not be revised for additional credit.

· If you need an exception to the deadline policy, consult with Professor Pole.

Each essay is to be submitted in two formats, by a typed, paper copy and as a file attached to an email.  However, attachments need to be carefully named.  Improperly named files will not be opened.  Suppose that the topic of Mary Jones' essay is professionalism. The title of her printed paper might be Professionalism but the name of her computer file is to start with her name, for example:

MaryJonesProfessionalism.doc  or MaryJonesProfessionalism.rtf

On your own machine, a file called PhilosophyEssay1 might make sense, but on my machine the file name is obscure, especially if a dozen different students send the same title!  Avoiding this problem is the reason for the naming rules.

Note: Any email message to me about this course should have a subject header that starts with 255.  This is to help separate your email from spam and other forms of fraud.

Guidelines For Writing A Topic Summary

The purpose of a Topic Summary is to become an expert on what the text states about one central point.  Think of it as a take-home exam on a topic that you choose.  It is evaluated on the basis of its understanding of the issues raised, the importance of the topic that was chosen and the quality of the written expression.

Features of an A-essay are that

· It is a reasonably accurate summary of an important topic.

· It includes evidence in support of the central thesis.

· It evaluates reasons for denying its central thesis.

· It uses examples to illustrate its points.

· It goes beyond the text by including a criticism not found in the text.

· It shows reflection and not just paraphrase.

· Its topic has not yet been discussed in class.  Essays on topics already discussed will be accepted but they will need to meet a tougher standard; they will be judged in part by how well they respond to and get beyond issues raised in class.

PAPERS: It is expected that you are to receive instruction and feedback on writing.  Among my expectations are that:

A paper is your chance to show off how much philosophy you have been learning due to this course.

Papers should be stimulating to write and to read.

Papers will be typed in a 12 pt standard font.

Papers will have the left margin justified.  Do not justify both margins.

Papers will have Footnotes and a Bibliography.

Papers will follow a standard style manual.

Papers will begin with an introduction and end with a summary.

Papers will not include a biography of the philosophers that are discussed unless it is relevant to the philosophical argument.

The topic of all papers must be approved or assigned by Professor Pole.  If you wish to work on a topic from outside the text, at least two weeks before the paper is due, submit a short writing proposal.  On it list the question(s) that you will explore and the works that you intend to consult.

The central philosophic theses of the essay will be supported with arguments.  The best papers consider both evidence for a thesis and evidence against it.  The best papers show why it is important to accept a thesis even though there is some reason to reject it.

If you write on a topic discussed in class, then you must state your acceptance and rejection of points raised in class.

You may discuss your ideas with anyone including other class members and Professor Pole.  And, you may read widely on the topic of your essay.  But, you must carefully distinguish between your words and those borrowed or paraphrased from others.  Not doing so constitutes plagiarism.  From an academic point of view, plagiarism is one of the worst offenses that a writer can commit.

You must keep copies of all drafts and revisions until receiving the official course grade.  In the event of any grade dispute, these will have to be produced.

Written work will be evaluated for philosophic content, for written style, and for the mechanics of its presentation (spelling, grammar, punctuation, …).

COURSE CALENDAR—PHL 255, Fall 2009

AUG    24 Week  1—Does Philosophy = Western?

Text assignment:       

Tuesday Course goals & basic concepts

Thursday An Overview of Western Philosophy

AUG     31 Week  2—Pagan Western Philosophy

Text assignment: Pages 292-311

Tuesday                   

Thursday              

SEP    7 Week  3—Medieval Western Philosophy

Text assignment: Pages 311-319

Monday CSU Closed—Labor Day

Tuesday                   

Thursday              

SEP    14 Week  4—Scientific Western Philosophy

Text assignment: Pages 319-326

Tuesday                   

Thursday              

SEP    21 Week  5—Japanese Philosophy

Text assignment: Chapter 1

Tuesday                   

Thursday DUE: First Paper

SEP     28 Week  6—Chinese Philosophy

Text assignment: Chapter 2

Tuesday                   

Thursday              

OCT    5 Week  7—Marxist Philosophy

Text assignment: Pages 57-65, 277-292, and 334-337

Tuesday Chinese Philosophy—Continued

Thursday Marxist Philosophy

OCT    12 Week  8—South Asian Philosophy

Monday CSU closed—Columbus Day

Text assignment: Chapter 3

Tuesday                   

Thursday              

OCT    19 Week  9—Arabic Philosophy

Text assignment: Chapter 4

Tuesday                   

Thursday              

OCT    26 Week 10—Persian Philosophy

Text assignment: Chapter 5

Tuesday                   

Thursday DUE: Second Paper

Friday LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW—Thinking about dropping? Talk it over first with Professor Pole. Maybe he can find a way around your difficulty.

NOV     2 Week 11—Jewish Philosophy

Text assignment: Pages 133-138 and 317 - 318

Tuesday Maimonides

Thursday 20th Century

NOV    9 Week 12—American Indian Philosophy

Text assignment: Chapter 6

Tuesday                   

Wednesday No Classes—Veterans Day; Offices Open

Thursday                  

NOV    16 Week 13—Latin American Philosophy

Text assignment: Chapter 7

Tuesday                   

Thursday              

NOV    23 Week 14—African Philosophy

Text assignment: Chapter 8

Tuesday                   

Thursday & Friday CSU Closed—Thanksgiving

NOV     30 Week 15—Review and summary

Text assignment: REread everything

Tuesday African Philosophy—Continued

Thursday Last comments

Thursday DUE: Third Paper

DEC    7 Week 16—Finals Week!

Tuesday 10-12:00 Office hours

Thursday 8:30-10:30 Final Exam in MC 307A—Bring a business size self-addressed stamped envelope if you want your exam returned by mail.

 Tuesday, DEC 15, graded papers, with course grades indicated, will be available after 4:00 on the black metal shelf in RT 1932.

General Education Requirements

WRITING: For students who are graduating under the requirements in effect BEFORE Fall 2008, PHL 255 counts towards the University WAC (Writing Across the Curriculum) requirement.

                                    WAC Rules (set by the University)

1.      Students must be required to write a minimum of 2,000 words in writing assignments.
2.      The required writing must be in at least two separate assignments or drafts. The instructor should give feedback to assist the student in preparing subsequent papers or drafts of papers. This must include feedback on the writing. It should not consist entirely of mechanical correction of punctuation and grammar
3.      In order to receive a C or better in a WAC course, the student must write at a satisfactory skill level (C or better). If the student's writing is weak, but shows understanding of the course material, the student may be assigned a D, in which case WAC credit will not be received for the course.
4.      Maximum enrollment for a WAC course is 35 or 45 with a graduate assistant.

Writing Center Services for Students

The Writing Center located at RT 105 is a free service for students, staff and faculty. Among the services it provides:
* 30-minute tutorials (students call 687-6981 to schedule)
* drop-in help
* 2-credit hour courses (English 105/106—tutorials + workshops)
* a wide variety of style manuals (APA, MLA, Turabian, and so on)
* a wide selection of writing textbooks and readers
* computers for Internet research and for composing.
The staff consists mostly of graduate teaching assistants from the English department who enjoy working with students.

Arts and Humanities

1. Courses must be offered at the 100/200 level in an arts and humanities discipline including but not limited to English, History, Philosophy, Art History, Music History, Religious Studies, or Modern Languages. Courses offered in other disciplines may be approved if they meet the other conditions indicated below.

2. Courses must provide students with background knowledge and analytical skills that will allow them to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of how human beings interpret, translate, and represent diverse experiences of the world through language, literature, the historical record, philosophical systems, images, sounds, and performances.

2. Apply that understanding to the study of the human condition, cultural heritage, cultural artifacts, creativity, and history.

**Additional criterion for courses NOT specifically focused on Asia, Latin America, Africa or the Middle East:

Courses must be survey courses that provide an overview of a broad topic or field of knowledge.

**Additional criteria for courses focused on Asia, Latin America, Africa and/or the Middle East:

1. The primary focus of the course must be on a society or societies in Asia, Latin America, Africa and/or the Middle East. Courses that compare these societies to those of North America and/or Europe may be approved only if the majority of the course material concerns the first group of societies and the principal purpose of the course is to improve students’ understanding of those societies.

2. Content must be presented from the perspective(s) of the societies being studied, not simply European and/or American perceptions of those societies.

SKILL AREA OF WRITING

To qualify in the skill area of writing a course must:

1. Designate that at least 15% of the student’s grade in the course is based on an evaluation of writing.

2. Include writing assignments that directly relate to the course goals.

3. Include instruction in writing-to-learn and/or writing-to-communicate. While writing-to-learn emphasizes the student’s experience, writing-to-communicate highlights the reader’s experience. Both are necessary to produce a thoughtful text that observes academic writing’s conventions.

4. Require that students write a total of 2,000 words (8 pages, double-spaced, in 12-point font, with 1” margins) in multiple assignments.

5. Assign writing throughout the semester.

Writing-to-learn helps students use writing to explore many aspects of the course as well as their own reflections; these activities should foster learning at deeper levels than memorization or recitation. Writing-to-communicate emphasizes aspects of writing (style, grammatical correctness, coherence, focus) that allow a reader to navigate the writing as he or she wishes.

SKILL AREA OF CRITICAL THINKING

To qualify in the skill area of critical thinking a course must:

1. Designate that at least 15% of the student’s grade in the course is based on an evaluation of critical thinking.

2. Require students to attain skills beyond lower-level knowledge, thereby requiring:

1. higher-order thinking (analysis, synthesis, evaluation); OR

2. skills that involve the use of content knowledge (e.g. finding information to solve a problem); OR

3. the recognition of the importance and usefulness of knowledge and skills gained in the course (e.g. recognize the ability to and importance of working with others to solve intellectual problems).