32 courses with the subject PHI, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
PHI 1110Introduction to Philosophy: A Search for Meaning4
This course offers an investigation into the meaning and structure of human existence by critically analyzing some of the perennial questions of human experience. In this course, students analyze important concepts and issues in metaphysics (the study of being), epistemology (the theory of knowledge), and ethics by considering the views of some of the great philosophers of the Western Tradition, as well as a diverse range of contemporary philosophers critical of that tradition. Students critically think through diverse positions and arguments, appreciating the depth and richness of the perennial “problems of being human.” GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry
This course provides an intensive study of three models of argumentation: classical argument and logic; Toulmin argumentation (a contemporary rethinking of classical argument), and Rogerian argumentation (aimed at building and maintaining community in the course of argumentative deliberation, rather than the adversarial dynamic of the other two models). Students explore each of these models in their own writing (a shorter paper with required revision for each model), and they write a longer researched argumentative essay employing whatever models they believe appropriate to their intended audiences. There are other short, informal, ungraded writing assignments as well. The course includes whole-class, small-group, and one-on-one workshopping of drafts. We shall also devote some attention to the ethics of public deliberation. GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry, Oral and Written Communication
Topics courses are 2 or 4 credit, in-depth, thematic courses that may be repeated for credit under a different theme. May be repeated up to three times for a maximum of 8 credits.
Subject
PHI
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for credit under a different theme.
Topics courses are 2- or 4-credit, in-depth, thematic courses that may be repeated for credit under a different theme. May be repeated up to a maximum of 12 credits.
Subject
PHI
Credits (min)
4
Credits (max)
4
Credit unit
cr
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for credit under a different theme.
This course will focus on a philosophical approach to the anarchist political tradition. Topics to be studied will include classical, black, feminist, utopian, non-utopian, and eco-anarchism. The topics will be approached critically, reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of each position and orientation. Contrasts with the Marxist and liberal traditions will be explored.
There is much discussion about the status--cognitive, emotional, and moral--of non-human animals. This course will follow current debates about animal rights, considering positions from different perspectives within that debate. The goals of the course are 1) to understand a variety of positions on the moral status of non-human animals, 2) to develop nuanced views of that status, and 3) to inculcate the practice of philosophical reflection.
PHI 2500Philosophy and Art at Black Mountain College4
Black Mountain College is best known as the famous interdisciplinary art school that attracted internationally-renowned (and in many cases, exiled) artists, musicians, poets, and inventors to the rural mountains of North Carolina. But what were the philosophical ideals that gave rise to Black Mountain College's unique spirit of collaboration, experimentation, and community? How did these develop in response to the politics of World War II? In this course, students explore how philosophical ideas (John Dewey, Kant, Confucius) relate to artistic practices (John Cage, Buckminster Fuller, Robert Rauschenberg). Students gain an appreciation of philosophy's role in the complex dynamic between art, community, education, and politics.
The central focus of this course is to develop an understanding of the proper relationship between humans and the non-human entities of the natural world. In doing so, the course explores the major Western approaches to environmental ethics and the central issues of the ethical status of plants and animals, the holism/individualism debate and the meaning of sustainability. A significant portion of this course is devoted to the Land Ethic, Deep Ecology, Ecofeminism and some Eastern approaches as well. This course fulfills the "Diverse Perspectives Requirement" within the Philosophy Program. A substantial part of its content includes diverse perspectives in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and/or sexual orientation. At least one writing assignment includes one or more of these perspectives. GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry
This course offers an investigation into political philosophy from the beginning of the Modern period to the present. Students gain an understanding of important political philosophers such as Hobbes, Rousseau, Locke, Kant, Mill, and Marx. In addition, students read contemporary essays, which focus on issues in contemporary society regarding race, gender, sex, and class theory, written by some of the top theorists in their respective fields. This course fulfills the "Diverse Perspectives Requirement" within the Philosophy Program. A substantial part of its content includes diverse perspectives in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and/or sexual orientation. At least one writing assignment includes one or more of these perspectives. GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry
This course focuses on philosophical and political issues in nonviolent action, as well as student engagement. It begins by asking what violence is, then turns to theories of nonviolence. From there, students examine campaigns of nonviolence, both historical and contemporary. Students receive basic training in grassroots organizing. As the semester unfolds, students engage with nonviolence in Asheville through interviewing participants and/or participating (where legal), and presenting their findings to the class.
This course investigates the fundamental philosophical issues and arguments involved in contemporary ethical problems such as capital punishment, euthanasia, animal rights, parenting issues, gay marriage, cloning, and free speech. The first month of the course focuses primarily on theory, the remainder on the practical issues. This course fulfills the “Diverse Perspectives Requirement” within the Philosophy Program. A substantial part of its content includes diverse perspectives in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and/or sexual orientation. At least one writing assignment includes one or more of these perspectives. GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry, Oral and Written Communication
This course examines the origins of race-thinking and the myriad ways in which race has been constructed and deconstructed. Students focus on a critical interpretation of what race is, what it does, and how contemporary racial meanings are produced and reproduced. Course readings are drawn from the fields of religious studies, philosophy, social theory, and legal studies, in order to draw on a broad vocabulary and set of references when engaging the meanings of race and racial presentation. Cross-listed with SOC 2575 Critical Race Theory. GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry
This course investigates several historical and contemporary feminist philosophical perspectives with the aim of enabling students not only to work critically through some important feminist critiques, but also to appreciate the diversity of feminist thought. The majority of the readings in this course focus on contemporary feminist perspectives. This course fulfills the "Diverse Perspectives Requirement" within the Philosophy Program. A substantial part of its content includes diverse perspectives in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and/or sexual orientation. At least one writing assignment includes one or more of these perspectives. GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry
In this course students critically investigate and analyze how central philosophical ideas – truth, justice, revenge, relation to the divine, law, and love – were coded along gendered (as well as class, race, and ethnic) lines by the Hellenic people during different times in the Pre-Classical and Classical period. As we rethink many aspects of gender today, understanding its deep history in Ancient Greek culture and the thought to which we are the heirs enriches our own understanding. Students read and critically think through canonical texts of the Western tradition, including: the Odyssey, Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Antigone, Plato’s Symposium, and other works of the Archaic and Classical period. Students also choose and read a contemporary novel that takes up ancient gender themes in a contemporary perspective. GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry, Oral and Written Communication
PHI 2590Ancient Philosophy: Problems of Truth and Goodness4
This course investigates some of the basic questions of human life concerning how truth, justice, revenge, relation to the divine, law, and love were lived and understood by the Greeks during the Classical Period of ancient Greek history. Students discover the beginnings of systematic Western philosophy in Plato and Aristotle, touching on some of their influences, such as Socrates, Heraclitus, and Parmenides. One theme of this course, justice, is considered not only through the philosophical writings, but also in the context of Greek tragedy. Students read some of the most incredible works of tragedy of the Western tradition: The Antigone by Sophocles and The Bacchae by Euripides.
Existentialist philosophy represents a crucial development in the 20th Century, and calls on us to reflect meaningfully on our lives, particularly on our social and personal values. This course ties existentialist philosophy to social-philosophical questions in today’s world, particularly those regarding race, gender, oppression and liberty. Students critically analyze pivotal existentialist texts alongside related films and novels, including: Nietzsche’s The Gay Science/Groundhog Day; Sartre’s Existentialism is a Humanism/Crimes and Misdemeanors; Camus’ The Stranger; the film, Ikiru; de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex/Monk Kid’s The Invention of Wings, and Fanon’s Black Skin/White Mask. Students appreciate the relevance of existentialist thought to issues of social, economic, and psychological oppression, especially in terms of race, class, and gender. GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry
This course offers an investigation into several leading contemporary thinkers in Continental philosophy: Michel Foucault, Angela Davis, Luce Irigaray, Judith Butler, bell hooks, Giorgio Agamben, Linda Alcoff, Gayle Salamon, and more. The general theme of the course centers on these philosophers’ respective attempts to open up new ways of thinking about subjectivity, embodiment, rationality, gender, race, and citizenship that take into consideration the role of institutions such as language and social-political structures. Students critically analyze questions and ideas developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries that Continental philosophers are working on right now.
Topics courses are 2 or 4 credit, in-depth, thematic courses that may be repeated for credit under a different theme. May be repeated up to three times for a maximum of 8 credits. GE: Partially satisfies Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry
Subject
PHI
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for credit under a different theme.
Topics courses are 2- or 4-credit, in-depth, thematic courses that may be repeated for credit under a different theme. May be repeated up to a maximum of 12 credits. GE: Humanities - Philosophical
Subject
PHI
Credits (min)
4
Credits (max)
4
Credit unit
cr
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for credit under a different theme.
This is a Study Away course that will focus on a special topic within the discipline, and will include two to three weeks of travel to a domestic or international destination at the culmination of the semester. The topic will be approached through an intercultural lens, and will achieve the following learning outcomes: 1. Students will demonstrate the ability to understand and respect diverse cultural and historical traditions.
This interdisciplinary course, co-taught by faculty from the Philosophy and English departments, examines the history, concept, and use of propaganda for political purposes. Focusing on historical topics ranging from British WWI propaganda to Nazi propaganda to contemporary forms of propaganda, this advanced seminar-style course aims at a deeper understanding of what propaganda is, how it is used, and how it relates to similar forms of political influence and disinformation. Cross-listed with ENG 3320 Propaganda.
This course offers a study of some of the key thinkers during this broad period in the history of philosophy (16th-19th Centuries). We are today the inheritors of the Modern tradition in philosophy and in science. Students analyze the rich diversity in the Modern philosophers' respective methods and theories regarding knowledge, truth, and reality. Students read original texts by Bacon, Galileo, Descartes, Berkeley, Spinoza, Hume, Kant, and Hegel, and pay particular attention to the connection between philosophical and scientific method and theory.
PHI 3890Multiculturalism and the Politics of Identity4
In this course, students explore a broad range of issues concerning identity and multiculturalism relevant to the field of political philosophy. These topics include core questions about what constitutes individual and collective identity as well as a number of specific questions about the status of identity forms with respect to legal rights, social customs, and cultural recognition.
This course offers an investigation into several leading contemporary thinkers in Continental philosophy: Michel Foucault, Angela Davis, Luce Irigaray, Judith Butler, bell hooks, Giorgio Agamben, Linda Alcoff, Gayle Salamon, and more. The general theme of the course centers on these philosophers’ respective attempts to open up new ways of thinking about subjectivity, embodiment, rationality, gender, race, and citizenship that take into consideration the role of institutions such as language and social-political structures. Students critically analyze questions and ideas developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries that Continental philosophers are working on right now.
Topics courses are 2 or 4 credit, in-depth, thematic courses that may be repeated for credit under a different theme. May be repeated up to three times for a maximum of 8 credits.
Subject
PHI
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for credit under a different theme.
Topics courses are 2- or 4-credit, in-depth, thematic courses that may be repeated for credit under a different theme. May be repeated up to a maximum of 12 credits.
Subject
PHI
Credits (min)
4
Credits (max)
4
Credit unit
cr
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for credit under a different theme.
This course is a senior capstone for students majoring in Philosophy. In this course, students research and craft multiple drafts of a major research paper that focuses on advanced level primary texts and secondary sources in a given topic or historical movement, with the goal of refining the students' researching, writing, and oral argumentation skills at the highest undergraduate level. Students present their research and arguments at the Capstone Carnival in the spring. Ancient Greek Thought OR PHI 2590 Ancient Philosophy: Problems of Truth and Goodness, 3) PHI 3530 Modern Philosophy, and 4) have at least junior standing to enroll in a capstone seminar in Philosophy.
1) Section I of the Philosophy major requirements, 2) PHI 2589 Gender Troubles in
PHI 4950Topics in Philosophy2
Topics courses are 2- or 4-credit, in-depth, thematic courses that may be repeated for credit under a different theme. May be repeated up to a maximum of 8 credits.
Subject
PHI
Credits (min)
2
Credits (max)
2
Credit unit
cr
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for credit under a different theme.
Topics courses are 2- or 4-credit, in-depth, thematic courses that may be repeated for credit under a different theme. May be repeated up to a maximum of 12 credits.
Subject
PHI
Credits (min)
4
Credits (max)
4
Credit unit
cr
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for credit under a different theme.
