Topics vary semester to semester. Specific topics may satisfy different Core Program requirements and different Philosophy major requirements.
Disagreement, Arrogance, and Ending Oppression
This course investigates personal attitudes towards disagreement; it examines how these attitudes can fuel race-, gender-, disability-, or sexuality-based prejudice and associated forms of oppression; and it thus considers means of eradicating these social ills. A portion of the course focuses on epistemic vices like arrogance, which tend to make it difficult for people to credit the value of opposing views. Then we turn to examine whether a person can, through the recognition of disagreement alone, come to identify their vices and ameliorate them, and if not, what other approaches might be effective. We will also meet with scholars currently working on related issues in order to learn about and discuss their work.
This topic will count toward the Mind and World requirement for the Philosophy major. This topic will satisfy the Core Program U.S. Diversity requirement.
Metaphor and Figurative Language
Metaphorical and other figurative uses of language are a pervasive part of our linguistic life. However, most systematic philosophical study of language has focused primarily on the literal meanings of linguistic expressions, with metaphor occupying a peripheral place. But what is the difference between literal and figurative uses of language? How do we produce, interpret, and understand metaphors? And is metaphor a primarily linguistic phenomenon, or does it extend into other areas of cognition as well? In this seminar we will discuss historical and current approaches to metaphor in philosophy and related disciplines, and we will meet with scholars currently working on these issues to learn about and discuss their work.
This topic will count toward the Mind and World requirement for the Philosophy major.
When Race is “Other”: In-Between and Outside of U.S. Race Categories
About 1 in 10 Americans identifies as more than one race. This group includes those who have parents of two or more races (e.g., one parent who is Black and one who is White, one parent who is Asian and one who is Pacific Islander, etc.), as well as some Latinx Americans. In this course, we will ask: what can be learned by centering the experiences of those who live “in between” race? Can one have racial privilege in some respects, but not others? Can one identify with a race, even if one ‘passes’ as something else? Why do so many American discussions of race proceed as if this group does not exist? Our course will draw on texts in philosophy, sociology, and literature, as well as the knowledge of guest speakers from Los Angeles and beyond.
This topic will count towards the Self & Community requirement for the Philosophy major. This topic will satisfy the Core Program U.S. Diversity requirement.
Philosophy of Food
The aim of this course is to demonstrate that food is worthy of philosophy inquiry. We will start with the deceptively simple question, what is food and why is it important? We will quickly move on to specific questions concerning the aesthetic value of food (can food be a work of art?), the nature of food criticism (who am I to tell you what you should like to eat?), a cluster of ethical questions concerning the production and consumption of food (e.g., what exactly is wrong with GMO?, what’s the connection between patriarchy and eating meat?, isn’t ethics fundamentally a question about hospitality?), and broad questions about food and cultural identity (what exactly does “authentic Mexican” mean?). Like any good philosophy course, the point is not to flatter your taste, but to change it, which we will do by cooking together and talking to a number of local food writers and philosophers.
This topic will count towards the Experiential Learning requirement for the Philosophy major.