Heidegger and His Critics
Phil 4300W Senior Seminar
Dr. Janet Donohoe
TLC
3223
Course
Description: This course serves as a
“capstone” to the study of philosophy at UWG.
It is required for all graduating seniors in philosophy. This semester’s topic is Heidegger and his
critics, thus the course will focus on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger
(1889-1976). We are interested not only
in Heidegger’s philosophy, but also how his philosophy has been received and
critiqued by other major thinkers.
Learning
Outcomes: This course aims to examine current
theoretical and practical issues in the discipline of philosophy; to read and
discuss the debates surrounding the topic of the seminar; to develop, research,
and execute a rigorous philosophical argument relating to the topic of the
seminar; to develop the skills of leading class discussion, and presenting an
academic paper. By the end of the
semester students will be able to:
Requirements: The requirements for this class are fivefold.
a) Class participation (including
editing of anthology) 10%
b) Response papers 20%
c) Class presentations 20%
d) Seminar paper (including drafts) 50%
e) Exit interview & Intellectual
Biography (required for graduation)
NOTE: A “W” designation after a section number of a 3000- or 4000-level course signifies that the course is a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) course. WAC accepts as a guiding principle the idea that writing is a valuable tool for learning and communication. Therefore, the writing components of a course so designated are designed to help you learn the material and communicate what you have learned. Students are required to take two “W” courses for an undergraduate degree in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Class
Participation: Because this course is a small seminar,
attendance and participation is mandatory.
Each student will be expected to be fully prepared having done the
reading and thought about questions and issues to raise in discussion.
Response
Papers: these papers are written responses to class
discussion. Each day a student is
assigned to write a brief synopsis of the class discussion to be submitted to
the other students at the beginning of the following class.
Class
Presentations: In-class presentations will be of two
types. Students will be required to
lead class discussion of particular texts at least once during the course of
the semester. Each student will also be
required to present a near-final draft of their seminar paper and respond to questions
posed by their fellow classmates and professor. This presentation should be 10-13 minutes with an additional 4-5
minutes for questions and answers.
Seminar
Papers: Seminar papers should be an original
investigation of a text or texts focusing on a particular issue or problem
raised by the text(s). The paper should
reflect research of secondary sources and should be a representation of active
engagement with theoretical and critical issues currently important in the
field. The result should be a
high-quality philosophical essay suitable for submission to undergraduate
philosophy conferences. Because you
will be submitting multiple drafts of your paper, the editing process will be
taken very seriously. Editing your
classmates’ work, including making comments about revision of grammar, style,
organization, and content, is a requirement that will be graded in terms of
serious and thoughtful assistance balanced with respect for other individuals’
ideas.
The
class project of an anthology requires that you submit your final seminar paper
both on paper and in an electronic version.
In order for your paper to be included in this collection, you must
successfully complete all steps in this process and meet minimum criteria for
the paper.
Intellectual
Biography: Each philosophy major is required to
construct a Senior Portfolio consisting of a) a program advising sheet; b) two
letters of recommendation; c) an example of the student’s best written work; d)
an intellectual biography. You will
write your intellectual biography as part of this course. It should be approximately two pages in
length and should address your growth as a scholar. The intellectual biography might include: a discussion of a
favorite philosopher; first memory of scholarly interest; the impact of a
mentor; and/or, a topic of past, present, or future research.
Late
papers will not be accepted. Class
Presentations cannot be made up.
3. Availability: I am available outside of class during office hours, or by
appointment. If there are questions or
problems, do not hesitate to see me.
Hours: M, W, F 9:00-10:00 am; 12:20-1:20 pm.
Office: TLC 2250
Phone: 678-839-4743
e-mail: jdonohoe@westga.edu
4. Book List:
The books listed below should be available in the bookstore.
Heidegger Basic Writings
Heidegger Being and Time
Polt Heidegger’s
Being and Time: Critical Essays
14 Introduction to critical philosophical methods/Presentation from Kimily
16 critical philosophical methods/Library Research
18 Centennial Celebration—no classes
21 Introduction to Heidegger
23 Heidegger Being and Time Introduction Part I.
25 Being and Time Introduction Part I
28 Being and Time/Polt Heidegger’s Being and Time Introduction
30 Being and Time Introduction Part II
1 Being and Time/Polt Grondin Essay
4 Labor Day—no classes
6 Being and Time I.I (oral progress report on paper topics)
8 Being and Time/Polt Nicholson Essay
11 Being and Time I.II
13 Being and Time/Polt Guignon Essay
15 presentation and discussion of paper topics-1 page abstract due/peer editing
18 Being and Time I.III
20 Being and Time/Polt McNeill Essay
22 Being and Time I.IV
25 Being and Time/Polt Crowell Essay
27 Being and Time I.V (oral progress report on paper)
29 Being and Time/Polt Figal Essay
2 3-page paper prospectus due with outline and annotated bibliography/peer editing
4 Being and Time/Polt deBoer Essay
6 Being and Time I.VI
9 Fall Break—no classes
11 Heidegger Basic Writings/Polt Dahlstrom Essay
13 Basic Writings “Letter on Humanism”
16 Basic Writings/Polt Dreyfus Essay
18 Basic Writings “Letter on Humanism”
20 Basic Writings/Polt Barash Essay
23 Basic Writings “The Origin of the Work of Art”
25 1st paper draft due/editing workshop
27 Basic Writings “The Origin of the Work of Art”
30 Basic Writings/Polt Kisiel Essay
1 Basic Writings “Building, Dwelling, Thinking”
3 Basic Writings/Polt Thomä Essay
6 Basic Writings “Building, Dwelling, Thinking”
8 Basic Writings
10 Basic Writings (2nd paper draft due)
13 Paper Presentations
15 Paper Presentations
17 Paper Presentation
20 Paper Presentations
22-24 Thanksgiving Break—no classes
27 Final paper draft due/editing workshop
29 Working day/anthology title selection(error-free version of paper due on paper and disk)
Exit interviews will be scheduled during the last week of classes. Intellectual biographies are due at the interview.
The seminar paper is central to the class and will probably be far more extensive in terms of the process of writing than you have experienced in other classes.
Because the essay (50% of your grade) will be published in a collection and preserved by the department, your writing is a very public activity. The first important thing to remember is that the class is now your peer group of editors; we begin with a healthy respect for each other’s work but part of your job is to critique, in helpful ways, the progress of your peers’ projects and, in the same way, be willing to use the critiques from others on your own work.
Also, the work of this paper takes up the majority of the class after midterm. This fact has two serious implications: one, you must choose a project early and you must complete a draft early; second, you must show extreme discipline and maturity about scheduling and work. Any student who cannot make this effort may be encouraged to withdraw.
Finally, the paper itself may be longer than others you have done. The projected length is 15 pages—one page more or less should not make a different, but considering the published collection, essays must all be as uniform as possible both in length and research quality. You should make sure that you use at least 6-10 substantive sources.
Deadlines for the paper
process:
August 14: Begin thinking about your essay of the first day of class.
September 6: oral progress report on paper topic selection
September 15: 1-page abstract due
September 27: oral progress report on prospectus and bibliography
October 2: 3 page prospectus with outline and annotated bibliography due
October 25: 1st draft due
November 10: 2nd draft due
November 27: final paper draft due
November 29: error-free version due
First do some long hard reflection upon your coursework—review syllabi, readings, conflicts of theories regarding some texts. No philosopher works in a vacuum. Heidegger, like all philosophers, is in dialogue with philosophers of the past and contemporary philosophers are in dialogue with Heidegger. Think about what kinds of philosophical theories Heidegger might be overturning, or reinforcing, or questioning. Or think about more contemporary theories that may have been influenced by Heidegger. There needn’t be direct links, but links that you could flesh out in your paper.
The abstract is a brief summary of what you intend to do in your paper. You should present the thesis of the paper and a general idea of what the argument will be.
The prospectus is a more detailed version of the abstract. It should include a more detailed description of the topic indicating the method you will use in elaborating the thesis of the paper. The prospectus should also include an outline of the parts of the paper showing the clear organization of the arugment.
The annotated bibliography should describe and evaluate the subject and scope of a bibliographical research source, such as an article, book, or chapter in a book. It might be helpful to use the following 4-sentence pattern for each entry.
a) a report of the author’s thesis in a that clause, introduced by the author’s name and qualifications, if known, and a rhetorically accurate signal verb, for example, argues, claims, explains, reports, etc.
b) a brief but accurate explanation of the author’s evidence, in other words, the facts, definitions, examples or other support the author uses to develop, prove or explain his or her argument, usually in the same order as the main points in the source.
c) a statement of the author’s purpose or motive (answering the question “Why did the author bother to write this?”), followed by an in order to phrase that identifies the author’s goal, that is, what the author hopes to achieve.
d) a description of the author’s intended audience in answer to the question, “Who exactly is the author addressing?” In other words, what kind of people does the author hope to inform or convince?
(from Margaret Woodward, “The Rhetorical Precis,” Rhetoric Review, vol. 7(1), 1988, pp. 156-63.)
The Department of English and Philosophy defines plagiarism as taking personal credit for the thinking of others as it is presented in electronic, print, and verbal sources. The Department expects that students will accurately credit sources in all assignments. Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course and may result in further consequences of being expelled from the University.