Well, the deed is done, the die is cast…
GOV 312L – Issues and Policies in American Government: Founding Principles
PHL 349 – History of Medieval/Renaissance Philosophy
RS 373 – Intro to Comparative Religion
RS 679HA – Honors Tutorial Course
GOV 312L – Issues and Policies in American Government: Founding Principles
The course seeks and understanding of the basic principles of American government in a close reading of a number of classic constitutional, theoretical, and political texts. The core of the readings are The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, The Federalist Papers, and Democracy in American by de Tocqueville. The meaning of democracy, equality, and liberty in the American system, the constitutional shape these values take, and the effect of these ideas on American life will be the recurring themes of our discussions. Three exams and a paper.
Expect to hear my teeth gnashing all the way from Austin as I compare these ideas with the current gang of villians in power.
PHL 349 – History of Medieval/Renaissance Philosophy
The course will cover main figures in the development of medieval philosophy in the Latin west. We will start with some neo-Platonic background and Augustine’s attempt to combine aspects of Greek philosophy with Christian doctrine in his views on free will, necessity and determinism; the respective roles of faith and reason; and his purported refutations of skepticism about knowledge in general and about the existence of God in particular. We will proceed to the figure of Boethius (early 6th century), setting the stage for the medieval debate about the problem of universals-realism vs. conceptualism vs. nominalism-and the development of logic and focus on language-primarily by considering writings of Anselm and Abelard in the later 11th and early 12th centuries. We will touch on the so-called Oxford calculators and the interest in mathematics and empirical science in figures like Grosseteste and Roger Bacon. Briefly considering aspects of important Arabic philosophers-Algazali, Avicenna, Alfarabi and Averroes-we will take up some of the central debates in the 13th century involving Bonaventura, Aquinas, and Siger of Brabant and go on to the developments and debates concerning universals, individuation, and identity in writings of Duns Scotus and William of Ockham. We will finish the scholastic period with the Hume of the middle ages-Nicholas of Autrecourt and briefly consider the return of skepticism and Neo-Platonism in the renaissance. Two essay-exams and a term paper.
RS 373 – Intro to Comparative Religion
This course introduces and discusses major comparative approaches in the study of religion. Since the end of the 19th century, scholars of religion sought to develop methods of comparison that were not religiously biased. What are the differences and the similarities in the religions of the world? Why do religions have the same – or completely different – answers to the same existential questions? Why do they express their beliefs by developing very different – or strikingly similar – practices? This course surveys classical and current approaches to the comparison of religions. The guiding questions are: What are the respective goals of the comparative enterprises? What specific methods are advocated and actually carried out? Should we adopt those goals and methods for our own reflections on religion? The introduction to these issues will be illustrated by numerous examples from the history of religions. Many examples will be taken from Asian religions, but depending on the interests of students in class, we may extend our scope into any direction. In the course of the semester, students will develop individual comparative projects in study groups. Oral presentation, group project, and final exam.
RS 679HA – Honors Tutorial Course
This will be the research phase of my Honors thesis.
The schedule actually offers a lot of “free” time: a class from 3:00-6:00 on Monday, one from 9:30-11:00 and another from 3:30-5:00 on Tuesday and Thursday. It does mean driving home in ‘rush hour’ three days a week, and a gap of 4½ hours on Tue/Thu, but I can use that time to work in the library. I’ll have Monday mornings free, and all day Wednesday and Friday.
