Claire Becerra is a Ph.D student in philosophy at Northwestern University, with interests in the philosophy of language, social epistemology, and the philosophy of education, all of which are informed by her indigeneity. She is a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, and currently splits time between Chicago, New York City, and Arizona. What are […] The post APA Member Interview, Claire Becerra first appeared on Blog of the APA.| Blog of the APA
When I create assignment prompts, my instructions explain both the what and the why. I include a brief statement explaining the value the assignment offers. My rationales consistently cite skills (sometimes intellectual virtues) that are valuable for any career: reading skills, analytical thinking, creative problem solving, and the like. Skill development isn’t passive. Despite students’ […] The post Designing for the struggle first appeared on Blog of the APA.| Blog of the APA
My course, Madness, Mental Illness, and Emotional Distress, is taught at Vanier College in St-Laurent, Québec, a CÉGEP (Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel). CÉGEPs are unique to Québec and offer a diploma that replaces the usual grade 12 and first-year university curriculum, as well as offering trade programs. This course is taught in a Humanities…| Blog of the APA
Ryan S. Bingham is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he studies the work of Jacques Derrida at the intersections of the philosophy of religion and the study of religion, culture, and politics. His dissertation is entitled “A Materialism without Substance: Jacques Derrida and Questions of Responsibility at the Closure…| Blog of the APA
College courses, unlike most high school courses, require students to engage in a good deal of independent learning. What they do outside of class is essential to their learning, and it requires both motivation and time management, as well as an understanding of academic skills and resources available to them as students. In high school,…| Blog of the APA
Vikas Beniwal is currently pursuing an M.A. in Philosophy at the University of Mississippi. Prior to this, he earned an M.A. in Philosophy and B.E. in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai. His research interests include moral and political philosophy, and he cares about animal welfare and environmental issues. PhilPeople: vikas-beniwal What excites you…| Blog of the APA
Peter Alward is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Saskatchewan. Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, he received his doctorate from The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1998. He works primarily on issues in the Philosophy of Art and Literature. What are you working on right now? Right now, I’m working on…| Blog of the APA
In my philosophy courses, I largely give take-home writing assignments. These are either focused on the course readings (no research required beyond the syllabus) or not (so they require students to do outside reading). Usually, I have 5-7 of the former (1,000-1,500 words) and 1-or-2 research papers (2,000-2,500 words if it is one long paper,…| Blog of the APA
Relatively few philosophers specialize in the philosophy of religion, but many teach an introductory problems course in which one usual topic is the existence of God. The routine approach is to present and assess the three traditional arguments for the existence of God. Then the focus shifts to the problem of evil, after which the…| Blog of the APA
Introducing foundational ethical theories can be a dreaded task for instructors; thwarting off cultural relativism and fielding questions such as “Yeah, but does this REALLY matter?” However, I am always excited to have the opportunity to challenge my students, most of whom have never taken a philosophy course before, to evaluate their deeply held convictions…| Blog of the APA
I taught this class, Identity and Memoir, in the spring of 2023 as a section of the Philosophy of the Human Person course at Seattle University. Philosophy of the Human Person is one of two philosophy courses each student is required to take as part of their general education core. Students in the course come…| Blog of the APA
Robert Engelman is a Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. His research interests are in social and political philosophy, 19th and 20th century philosophy, and aesthetics. 1. What excites you about philosophy? Philosophizing well increasingly strikes me as involving creative practices of carefully and honestly attending to and reflecting upon one’s experience and its…| Blog of the APA
"Ya te dije! Y más te vale que no les digas que eres pobre!!!" Those were my mom’s last words as I left for graduate school: "I already told you! And for your own sake, do not tell them you are poor!!!" I was shocked. For years, my parents never understood academia; they never grasped…| Blog of the APA
One way to teach Medical Ethics courses is to start with theory and then work through a series of pro/con pieces on abortion, euthanasia, using non-human animals in research, organ markets, etc. It’s a standard approach and for good reason: it introduces students to the moral aspects of these debates and helps them critically assess…| Blog of the APA
Bio: Rami El Ali works on the philosophy of perception, technology, and phenomenology. He is currently pursuing a second PhD focusing on virtual reality at the University of Arizona’s School of Information. He was previously associate professor and head of the philosophy program at the Lebanese American University, and a graduate from the University of…| Blog of the APA
Studying ancient philosophical works might seem to many students like an antiquated endeavor, akin to reading Euclid’s Elements or Newton’s Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy when compared to the empirical sciences. However, in philosophy, especially metaphysics, I’ve realized this is not the case. Metaphysics, which inherently involves thinking beyond, yet still accounting for, our empirical…| Blog of the APA
Ding works in feminist political philosophy, social metaphysics, and philosophy of law. They are currently finishing their PhD at the University of Arizona. Their dissertation explores the often-unexpected ways in which transgender equality not only poses difficult challenges to, but sheds constructive light on, our understanding of the meaning and requirements of gender equality. What…| Blog of the APA
Those who pursue a professorial career typically follow a path from high school to college to graduate school to faculty membership. Rarely noted, however, is that along the way the attributes of academic success change. To excel in high school calls for absorbing materials from various areas of inquiry, including mathematics, science, history, literature, and…| Blog of the APA
I went to a conference on academic integrity at Randolph College back in 2018. There was one hot topic at the time. It was not AI. It was paper mills. What could be done about paper mills? If one can just pay somebody to write a real paper, however, would one be able to show…| Blog of the APA
We are friends and colleagues who have collaborated on developing the following course at Houston Community College (HCC). We are also both philosophers. While the course featured here is not housed in our Philosophy Department and does not belong solely to one discipline, the way we each teach it is informed by our philosophical training and…| Blog of the APA
Brian LePort is a Social and Religious Studies Instructor at TMI Episcopal in San Antonio, TX. He teaches high school classes on subjects ranging from the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament to comparative religion and American religion, to philosophy (learn more at brianleport.home.blog). What excites you about philosophy?I grew up in a religious…| Blog of the APA
In the Fall of 2022, I began teaching in the philosophy department at Texas State University (TXST), which has been a proud Hispanic-serving institution for over a decade. Toward the end of the semester, my department chair asked if I would be willing to teach PHIL 4373: Latin American and Latinx Philosophy the following Spring.…| Blog of the APA
Even though I have taught my courses several times, I find that I am always excited to begin each new semester and to better understand the mysterious interplay between teacher and student. It’s critical to understand this teaching as an act of service. Understanding this in the abstract is one thing, but truly appreciating this…| Blog of the APA
I recently taught an eight-week course at Trinity Episcopal Parish in Searcy, Arkansas, on architectural and liturgical semiotics. I sought to answer this question: “What are the recurring motifs and movements that occur in this space, and what do they tell us about the kind of people that inhabit the space?” In other words, who…| Blog of the APA