MUSI 091. Introduction to Performing Arts Education: Music
How do we learn in the performing arts? This course explores a range of performing arts issues confronting educators in theory and practice. While the focus is music, we will also consider dance and theater with the help of guest lecturers. We will look at primary education in the United States, and we will also touch upon some of the ways music is taught to older students, as well as in other cultures. Students will draw upon their own experiences as teachers and learners. The course will culminate in a collaborative teaching project in which our class as a whole will develop and implement a program of performing arts instruction for children in partnership with an urban public school. While some prior study of music might be helpful, it is not a prerequisite. This course is open to any student who has taken at least one course in either education or music. Writing course. (Cross-listed as EDUC 071) 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/music Music and Dance: Music
With permission of the instructor, qualified students may choose to pursue a topic of special interest in music education through a field project involving classroom or school practice. (Cross-listed as EDUC 091C) Open to any student who has taken at least one course in music. 0.5 credit. Available as a credit/no credit course only. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/music Music and Dance: Music
This course is an intensive study of the music of two seminal 20th-century composers. We will consider song cycles by both composers and their connections to larger genres: Mahler’s symphonies and Britten’s operatic works as well as the War Requiem. Prerequisites: MUSI 011 to MUSI 014; a knowledge of German is recommended. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/music Music and Dance: Music
This course will provide an in-depth historical study of Chopin’s music. We will examine the full generic range of Chopin’s compositions, taking into account the various socio-cultural, biographical and historical-political issues that have attached to specific genres. Throughout the semester we will also consider such broader questions as: why did Chopin restrict himself almost entirely to piano composition? How might we locate Chopin’s work within the larger category of 19th-century musical romanticism? What does Chopin’s music mean to us today? Prerequisites: MUSI 011. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/music Music and Dance: Music
For centuries, and across different cultures, music has both served war and illustrated its victories and terror. Music has also provided powerful commentary on war, articulating human pain and protest in equal measure. In this seminar we consider these functions in a range of musical works of the 20th century from popular songs, film shorts, and folk songs from around the world, to music composed in prisons and concentration camps and some of the greatest art music of the 20th century. We will begin our discussion with a brief excursion into previous periods and conclude with an examination of music’s role during the war in Iraq. Prerequisites: MUSI 011 or permission of the instructor. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Baranello. http://www.swarthmore.edu/music Music and Dance: Music
Exploration of a number of advanced concepts in music theory including: the study and analytical application of post-tonal theory (including set theory and neo-Riemannian theory), the structure of the diatonic system, applications of theoretical models to rhythm and meter, and geometric models of musical progression. Prerequisite: MUSI 014. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Kochavi. http://www.swarthmore.edu/music Music and Dance: Music
Sight singing and rhythmic and melodic dictation. Required for all MUSI 011 to MUSI 014 students, with or without 0.5 credit. The instructor will place students at appropriate levels. 0.5 or 0.0 credit. Fall 2014 and spring 2015. Hamer. http://www.swarthmore.edu/music Music and Dance: Music
Performance of traditional and modern compositions for Balinese Gamelan (Indonesian percussion orchestra). Students will learn to play without musical notation. No prior experience in Western or non-Western music is required. The course is open to all students. Two (2) semesters of this course fulfills the World Traditions Component requirement for the music major. 0.5 or 0.0 credit. Fall 2014 and spring 2015. Whitman. http://www.swarthmore.edu/music Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 049B. Performance (African Dance Repertory Music Ensemble)
Performance of traditional and modern compositions as accompaniment for and collaboration with the development of a dance piece for concert performance. 0.5 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/music Music and Dance: Music
PEAC 015. Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies
In Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, we learn that peace and conflict are not mutually exclusive. To paraphrase Conrad Brunk, the goal of peace and conflict studies is to better understand conflict in order to find nonviolent ways of turning unjust relationships into more just ones. We examine both the prevalence of coercive and non-peaceful means of conducting conflict as well as the development of nonviolent alternatives, locally and globally, through institutions and at the grassroots. The latter include: nonviolent collective action, mediation, peacekeeping, and conflict transformation work. Several theoretical and philosophical lenses will be used to explore cultural and psychological dispositions, conflict in human relations, and conceptualizations of peace. The course will take an interdisciplinary approach with significant contributions from the social sciences. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Smithey. http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies Peace and Conflict Studies
PEAC 071B. Research Seminar: Strategy and Nonviolent Struggle
This research seminar involves working with The Global Nonviolent Action Database built at Swarthmore College. This website is accessed by activists and scholars worldwide. The database contains crucial information on campaigns for human rights, democracy, environmental sustainability, economic justice, national/ethnic identity, and peace. Students will investigate a series of research cases and write them up in two ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a narrative describing the unfolding struggle. Strategic implications will be drawn from theory and from what the group is learning from the documented cases of wins and losses experienced by people’s struggles. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies Peace and Conflict Studies
PEAC 077. Gun Violence Prevention: Peace Studies and Action
The course aims to bridge gaps between peace research, theory, and implementation by encouraging students to move between each as we examine the problem of gun violence, study effective interventions, consider nonviolent ways of conducting conflict, and assess the challenges of developing and sustaining effective peace work. While developing a nuanced understanding of the problem of gun violence, we also aim to get close to the experience of peacemakers and victims by consulting with and visiting local organizations collaborate with a local gun violence prevention organization to contribute to the work of the organization and develop our own analytical and research skills. Discussion over course readings will also be emphasized. This course will encourage collaboration and active participation in delivering the content of the course. Writing course. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Smithey. http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies Peace and Conflict Studies
Philosophy addresses fundamental questions that arise in various practices and inquiries. Each section addresses a few of these questions to introduce a range of sharply contrasting positions. Readings are typically drawn from the works of both traditional and contemporary thinkers with distinctive, carefully argued, and influential views regarding knowledge, morality, mind, and meaning. Close attention is paid to formulating questions precisely and to the technique of analyzing arguments through careful consideration of texts. 1 credit. Each semester. Staff. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
PHIL 001A. Introduction to Philosophy Section 1: Knowledge and Agency
What shall I do? What are the demands of morality? What is their basis (if there is one)? What is freedom of the will and do we enjoy it? Why is death bad? What is the meaning of life? (Does it have a meaning?) What can we know? What is knowledge? Are we just material beings or do we possess an immaterial (and, perhaps immortal) soul? These are and have always been fundamental philosophical questions. We will deal with them by reading and discussing classical as well as contemporary philosophical texts. Writing course. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Baumann. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
PHIL 001C. Introduction to Philosophy Section 3: Truth and Desire
This course is designed to develop your natural ability to think philosophically by heightening your sense of wonder and honing your critical skills. We will take a historical approach, starting with Plato and then reading Descartes and Nietzsche before turning to more contemporary theorists like Frantz Fanon and Sandra Bartky. Throughout the course, we will pursue questions about truth (What is it? How does it relate to knowledge? When do we know that we know?) as well as questions about desire (What do we want? How does that relate to what we should want, our ideas of the good life, and the kind of life we should lead?) and the relationship between the two. Writing course. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Lorraine. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
PHIL 001D. Introduction to Philosophy Section 4: Knowledge and the World
“Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth-more than ruin, more than even death.” Bertrand Russell believed that education’s primary goal should be to instill in students not only the ability to seek knowledge, but also the desire for it, the joy of it, and the appreciation of its power. For Russell, this was also an essential component of philosophy. In this course, we will investigate the quest for knowledge itself: what are we looking for and how should we be looking for it? We will read some of the canonical answers to these questions as well as some answers that are not so canonical. We will ask what knowledge is, what kinds of knowledge we can have, and what it is exactly that we can know. Writing course. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Thomason. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
PHIL 003. First-Year Seminar: The Meaning of Life
What is the meaning of life? Isn’t this question too big for us? Do we even understand the question? This course will engage critically with several philosophical attempts to make sense of this fundamental question; we will discuss different answers to it. More specifically, we will deal with questions like the following: Can life have a meaning only if there is a God? Isn’t life just absurd? Is there anything that really matters? Is death a problem for the attempt to lead a meaningful life? (and wouldn’t immortality be a good alternative?) What is the role of purpose, purposes and plans in our lives? Is a meaningful life a happy life? What role do values and goals play in a meaningful life? And, finally: What is a good life? Writing course. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Baumann. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Who are we? Who are we becoming? Who could we become? Are we masters of the universe, coparticipants in a larger whole, or instigators of an out-of-control path to destruction? What makes us distinct? How do we compare with other animals or machines? What part does our technology play in who we are? We will read classic conceptions of human nature drawn from the Western tradition of philosophy like Plato, Descartes, Rousseau, Kant, and Nietzsche. And we will consider interdisciplinary material drawn from evolutionary theory, animal studies, robotics, and neuroscience in order to consider how we might revise or rethink some of these earlier conceptions. Writing course. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
PHIL 006. First-Year Seminar: Life, Mind, and Consciousness
Classical problems of the nature and extent of life, the modern problems of mind and body, and contemporary issues that center on consciousness and thought serve as a chronological introduction to central philosophical issues. Individual writing conferences supplement plenary discussion sessions. Writing course. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Raff. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
PHIL 008B. First-Year Seminar: Philosophy, Culture, and Film
On how some major philosophers (Plato, Descartes, Marx, with some attention to Hegel and Nietzsche) have criticized forms of social and personal life and argued against the grains of their cultures in favor of life otherwise. Their work will be continuously compared with creative work on problems of human life by some major filmmakers (Herzog, Capra, Hawks). Writing course. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Eldridge. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
PHIL 010. First-Year Seminar: Questions of Inquiry
Classical and contemporary philosophical readings on questions of the nature and rationale for inquiry in science, morality, religion, and in philosophy itself. Writing course. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Raff. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
‘What should I do?’ This question is as old as philosophy itself. Just as it is one of the oldest and most complex philosophical puzzles, it also frequently occupies the minds of individuals in their day-to-day lives. In this course, we will focus on both ways of approaching this question. From the philosophical direction, we will discuss the ways in which philosophers have attempted to understand and describe our moral beliefs and commitments. From the practical direction, we will ask ourselves what it means to ascribe to these moral theories and how we might be able to actually live them. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for PEAC credit. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Thomason. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
An introduction to the principles of deductive logic with equal emphasis on the syntactic and semantic aspects of logical systems. The place of logic in philosophy will also be examined. No prerequisite. Required of all philosophy majors. Eligible for COGS credit. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Eldridge. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Seventeenth- and 18th-century theories of knowledge, morals, and metaphysics studied in philosophical masterpieces by Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Raff. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
On the nature of art and its roles in human life, considering problems of interpretation and evaluation and some specific medium of art: Who should care about art? Why? How? Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
This course will focus on two interrelated issues 1) the natures of literature and film, and 2) their value for human life. Close attention will be paid to the formal, structural, thematic, aesthetic, and material features of works of literary and film art. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for INTP credit. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Plato’s dialogues are complex works that require literary as well as philosophical analysis. While our primary aim will be to develop interpretations of the dialogues themselves, we will also view Plato through the lens of various modern and postmodern interpreters (e.g., Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Jung, Foucault, Irigaray, Rorty, Lacan, Nussbaum, Vlastos) Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for CLST credit. Writing course. (Cross-listed as CLAS 020) 1 credit. Spring 2015. Ledbetter. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
The focus of this course is to explore the relationship between the individual and the state. We will examine three different conceptions of individuals and the three different theories of the state to which they give rise: political realism, political liberalism, and critical political theory. First we examine the historical foundations of these three theories. Then we will read contemporary work on particular issues in order to draw out the implications of the three frameworks. We will see how each framework deals with questions about censorship, personal liberty, civil disobedience, and national security. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for PEAC credit. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Traditional issues of reality and appearance, and traditional topics of God, Freedom, and Immortality are background for contemporary questions of being. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
What is knowledge? Can we have it? If not, why not? If yes, how? Can we have a priori, “armchair” knowledge? Is cognition essentially social? What, if anything, is problematic about inductive inferences? How do our different senses relate to each other? In what consists the value of knowledge (if any)? We will discuss classic and contemporary answers to such questions. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for COGS credit. Writing course. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Raff. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Topics will include the nature of mathematical objects and mathematical knowledge, proof and truth, mathematics as discovery or creation, the character of applied mathematics, and the geometry of physical space. A considerable range of 20th-century views on these topics will be investigated including logicism (Frege and Russell), formalism (Hilbet), intuitionism (Brouwer and Dummett), platonism (Gödel), and empiricism (Kitcher). Important mathematical results pertaining to these topics, their proofs, and their philosophical implications will be studied in depth (e.g., the paradoxes of set theory, Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, and relative consistency proofs for non-Euclidean geometries). Prerequisites: Logic, acceptance as a major in mathematics, or approval of instructor. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Language is an excellent tool for expressing and communicating thoughts. You can let your friend know that there will probably be fewer than 25 trains from Elwyn to Gladstone next Wednesday-but could you do this without using language? (have you tried?) Even more interesting is the question how you can do this using language. How can the sounds I produce or the marks that I leave on this sheet of paper be about the dog outside chasing the squirrel? How can words refer to things and how can sentences be true or false? Where does meaning come from? Philosophy has dealt with such questions for a long time but it was only a bit more than 100 years ago that these questions have taken center stage in philosophy. We will read and discuss such more recent authors, starting with Frege, Russell and Wittgenstein and leading up to authors like Austin, Quine, Kripke and Putnam. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for COGS credit. (Cross-listed as LING 026) 1 credit. Fall 2014. Baumann. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
A survey of various technical and philosophical issues arising from the study of deductive logical systems. Topics are likely to include extensions of classical logic (e.g., the logic of necessity and possibility [modal logic], the logic of time [tense logic], etc.); alternatives to classical logic (e.g., intuitionistic logic, paraconsistent logic); metatheory (e.g., soundness, compactness, Gödel’s incompleteness theorem); philosophical questions (e.g., What distinguishes logic from non-logic? Could logical principles ever be revised in the light of empirical evidence?). Prerequisite: PHIL 012. Eligible for COGS credit. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Environmental ethics is normative moral and political philosophy as it pertains to environmental questions, concerns and issues. Here are some of the questions we’ll examine: Who counts in environmental ethics: animals, plants, ecosystems? E.g., culling deer in the Crum woods is bad for the deer killed but good for the flora and other fauna of the Crum; Does nature possess intrinsic value or only instrumental value?; Are values merely subjective e.g., expressions of personal preference or taste, or can they be, in some sense, objective?; Is there one sound environmental ethic or several?; Should we accept the claims of so-called “deep ecology” or is a more pragmatic approach better?; Should we be more concerned with sustaining, restoring, or preserving the environment e.g., with respect to wilderness?; How do we resolve a conflict between feeding people and saving nature?; Can we integrate human rights with environmentalism? Democratic decision making? This course is open to all, though it would be desirable if students had at least one philosophy course. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for ENVS credit. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
In this course, we will examine existentialist thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus to explore themes of contemporary European philosophy, including the self, responsibility and authenticity, and the relationships between body and mind, fantasy and reality, and literature and philosophy. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for INTP credit. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Lorraine. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
In this course, we will investigate the future directions feminist theory in the 21st century could or should take by looking at recent feminist theory and asking where we can go from here. Areas we will investigate include transnational theory, poststructuralist feminist theory, cultural theory, third-wave theory, critical race theory, and queer theory as well as theories that may not easily fit into any prevailing category of feminist thought. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for GSST credit. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
This course will examine the work of three 19th century “philosophers of suspicion” who challenged the self-presence of consciousness by considering consciousness as an effect of other forces. Their investigations into one’s understanding of truth as the effect of will-to-power (Nietzsche), one’s understanding of reality as the effect of class position (Marx), and consciousness as the effect of unconscious forces (Freud) provide an important background to contemporary questions about the nature of reality, human identity, and social power. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for INTP credit. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Lorraine. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Are there such things as human rights? If so, where do they come from and how are they best conceived? What should we do when they are violated? This course examines the theoretical underpinnings of human rights. To try to understand and answer these questions, we will read traditional philosophical arguments and accounts of human rights in addition to philosophical examinations of atrocities like genocide. We will then use the philosophical works to examine specific historical examples of human rights violations such as genocide, war rape, and apartheid. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for PEAC credit. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Advances in medicine and biological research have no doubt contributed both to the body of human knowledge and to the advances of modern life. But these great strides are accompanied by serious ethical questions and those questions are the topic of this course. We will approach issues in bioethics from two perspectives. First, we will grapple with the ethical issues themselves, such as the use of human subjects in experimentation, physician-assisted suicide, and the rights of reproduction (among many others). Second, we will examine these issues at the level of policy: what can doctors, patients, researchers, and lawmakers actually do about any of these issues and how do we go about making those hard choices? Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
In this course, we will examine some of the major theories of law: what exactly is law and why do we have to follow it? We then move to specific questions about criminal law, punishment, and civil disobedience. We conclude with a discussion of issues in international law and just war theory. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Thomason. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
The philosophical tradition of phenomenology takes lived experience as its starting point and insists upon the embodied nature of human minds. Once we take our embodiment seriously, how different are we from other animals? And what would it take for computer circuits to replicate something like human sentience? What can phenomenological descriptions of lived experience add to our understanding of who we are? This course will take a phenomenological perspective on what it is to be human and explore questions about embodiment, consciousness, rationality, affect, and identity, as well as the boundaries between the human and other forms of sentience. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Philosophers have long been interested in questions of identity, but that topic has largely been approached from the perspective of an abstract self. Female and LBGTQ philosophers and philosophers of color explore identity from within particular perspectives that are informed by gender and race. The authors we will read explore philosophical questions about race and gender through a mix of personal narratives and conceptual analysis. We will be primarily concerned with three broad issues of identity: (1) how race and gender have been historically understood and (2) how race and gender are experienced by individuals, and (3) how race and gender ought to be conceived. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for BLST and GSST credit. Writing course. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
In this course we will take a phenomenological perspective on lived experience in order to investigate questions about subjectivity, perception, temporality, and the roots of knowledge in being-in-the-world. How does abstract thought emerge from pre-reflective immersion in the world and what kind of light might a closer look at lived experience shed on questions about who we are, what we know, and how we ought to live? In addition to close readings of classic figures in phenomenology like Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, we will read work that manifests phenomenology’s continued relevance to questions we face in the 21st century about what it means to be human, embodied cognition, and environmental change. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Eligible for INTP credit. Writing course. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
This course will examine poststructuralist thinkers such as Foucault, Derrida, Kristeva, and Deleuze in light of contemporary questions about identity, embodiment, the relationship between self and other, and ethics. Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012, before enrolling in this course. Writing course. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
An examination of the principal theories of value, virtue, and moral obligation-and their justification. The focus will be primarily on contemporary treatments of moral philosophy. A central question of seminar will be the possibility and desirability of moral theory. 2 credits. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
For the Greeks and Romans, philosophy was a way of life and not merely an academic discipline. With this perspective in mind, we will examine topics in ethics, metaphysics, aesthetics, epistemology, and theology through close readings of Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics. We will also look more briefly at the thought of the Presocratics and the Stoics. Eligible for CLST credit. 2 credits. Fall 2014. Ledbetter. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
One or more central topics in contemporary metaphysics selected for sustained study: include: freedom, causation, universals, categories, necessity, identity of things and people, fiction, God. 2 credits. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
On the nature of art and its roles in human life, considering problems of interpretation and evaluation and some specific medium of art. Eligible for INTP credit. 2 credits. Spring 2015. Eldridge. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
What is knowledge? Can we have it? If not, why not? If yes, how? What does it mean to have evidence, justification or reasons for ones beliefs? How rational or irrational are we? Can we have a priori, “armchair” knowledge? Is cognition essentially social? We will discuss classic and contemporary answers to such questions. Eligible for COGS credit. 2 credits. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
The historical treatment of such topics as knowledge, morality, God’s existence, and freedom in Kant, Fichte, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, and Nietzsche. Eligible for INTP credit. 2 credits. Fall 2014. Eldridge. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Behaviorist theories of meaning, cognitivist theories of meaning, and conceptions of language as a social practice will be surveyed and criticized. Eligible for COGS credit. (Cross-listed as LING 116) 2 credits. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
The course is divided into three principal sections, focusing on philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. Section 1 covers four core positions in the philosophy of mind “dualism, behaviorism, materialism, and functionalism,” and it serves as an overview of traditional philosophy of mind. Section 2 explores how the philosophical ideas developed above connect to ongoing research in artificial intelligence. Section 3 concerns the philosophy of cognitive science, a field that investigates the biological and neurophysiological underpinnings of human mentality. Part of the aim is to clarify the goals and methods of cognitive science and to investigate ways in which advances in cognitive science may yield philosophical insights into the nature of mind. Eligible for COGS credit. 2 credits. Spring 2015. Baumann. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
A study of philosophical problems arising out of the presuppositions, methods, and results of the natural sciences, focusing particularly on the effectiveness of science as a means for obtaining knowledge. Topics include the difference between science and pseudoscience; the idea that we can “prove” or “confirm” scientific theories; explanation and prediction; the status of scientific methodology as rational, objective, and value free; and the notion that science aims to give us (and succeeds in giving us) knowledge of the underlying unobservable structure of the world. 2 credits. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
The focus of this seminar is justice: what makes a society or a state just and how to we deal with issues of oppression and injustice? We begin with historical conceptions of political power and examine critiques of these traditions. We then turn to current questions about the nature of justice from the liberal, libertarian, neo-Marxist, and feminist traditions. We end the course with a discussion of current issues of social justice. 2 credits. Fall 2014. Thomason. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
Mathematics is a discipline whose elegance, rigor, and stunning usefulness across a huge variety of applications has made it a central part of every school and college curriculum. But what exactly is mathematics about? At one level, the answer seems obvious: Mathematics is about numbers, functions, sets, geometrical figures, and so on. But what are these things? Do they exist? If so, where? And how do we come to know anything about them? If they do not exist, what makes mathematics true? This seminar will tackle these issues and look at what some of the great philosophers such as Plato, Descartes, Kant, and Wittgenstein have had to say about mathematics. 2 credits. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
PHIL 139. Phenomenology, Existentialism, and Poststructuralism
In this course, we will examine the themes of reality, truth, alienation, authenticity, death, desire, and human subjectivity as they emerge in contemporary European philosophy. We will consider thinkers such as Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Derrida, and Irigaray to place contemporary themes of poststructuralist thought in the context of the phenomenological and existential tradition out of which they emerge. Eligible for INTP credit. 2 credits. Spring 2015. Lorraine. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
A thesis may be submitted by majors in the department in place of one honors paper, on application by the student and at the discretion of the department. Each semester. Staff. http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Philosophy
This seminar will cover both the physics and policy of energy in all its forms. Topics include the physical basis for energy; thermodynamics and engines; energy sources (fossil fuels, solar, photovoltaics, nuclear); transportation; the electric grid; and climate change. Prerequisite: High school algebra. 1 credit. Not offered 2014-2015. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
PHYS 002M. First-Year Seminar: Physics in Modern Medicine
The impact that physics has had on the practice of clinical medicine in the past decade has been nothing short of staggering. This seminar introduces nonscientists to the physics behind many of the diagnostic and therapeutic techniques of modern medicine as well as the basic physics behind many physiological systems in the human body. In addition to the scientific basis of the subject, covered in a modern text, the societal, ethical and economic implications will be treated through readings from other sources and through medical site visits. Topics will include: laser surgery, photodynamic therapy, ultrasound imaging, x-ray and radionuclide imaging, computer tomography (CAT or CT scans), positron emission tomography (PET scans), radiation therapy, magnetic resonance (MRI) and recent advances in optical imaging methods. Prerequisites: None. Mathematical level: only algebra and some basic trigonometry. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Moscatelli. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
Topics include vectors, kinematics, Newton’s laws and dynamics, conservation laws, work and energy, oscillatory motion, systems of particles, and rigid body rotation. Possible additional topics are special relativity and thermodynamics. Prerequisite: MATH 015 (can be taken concurrently). Natural sciences and engineering practicum. Includes one laboratory weekly. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Graves. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
Topics include wave phenomena, geometrical and physical optics, electricity and magnetism, and direct and alternating current circuits. Possible additional topics may be added. Prerequisites: PHYS 003 or the permission of the instructor, MATH 025 (can be taken concurrently). Natural sciences and engineering practicum. Includes one laboratory weekly. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Collings. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
PHYS 004L. General Physics II: Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics with Biological and Medical Applications
PHYS 004L will cover the same topics as PHYS 004 but will emphasize biological, biochemical, and medical applications of those topics. The course will meet medical school requirements (in conjunction with PHYS 003) and will include a weekly laboratory. Students who wish to take PHYS 004L before PHYS 003 must have some high school physics background and obtain permission from the instructor. Prerequisites: MATH 015 or a more advanced calculus course; PHYS 003 or permission of the instructor. Natural sciences and engineering practicum. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Geller. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
This course presents an introduction to the twin pillars of contemporary physics: relativity and quantum theory. Students will explore the counterintuitive consequences of special relativity for our understanding of space and time, and the nature of the subatomic quantum world, where our notions of absolute properties such as position or speed of a particle are replaced by probabilities. It is the usual entry point to majoring or minoring in astronomy, astrophysics, or physics, and is a preor co-requisite for the sophomore-level physics major curriculum; it welcomes both non-majors and prospective majors who are interested in engaging rigorously and deeply with both the mathematical and conceptual descriptions of physics. Physics 005 will be taught seminar-style, with student presentation of problem solutions and ideas playing an essential role. Includes some afternoon labs and some evening telescope observing. Not eligible for NSEP credit. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Smith. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
An introduction to classical mechanics. This course is suitable for potential majors, as well as students in other sciences or engineering who would like a course with more mathematical rigor and depth than PHYS 003. Includes the study of kinematics and dynamics of point particles; conservation principles involving energy, momentum and angular momentum; rotational motion of rigid bodies, and oscillatory motion. Prerequisites: MATH 025 (can be taken concurrently), PHYS 005 or permission of the instructor. Natural sciences and engineering practicum. Includes one laboratory weekly: used for hands-on experimentation and occasionally for workshops that expand on lecture material. 1 credit. Fall 2014. Guess. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
ary effects and interference, the electrostatic field and potential, electrical work and energy, D.C. and A.C. circuits, the relativistic basis of magnetism, Maxwell’s equations, and geometrical optics. Prerequisites: PHYS 007 (or permission of instructor); MATH 033 (can be taken concurrently). Natural sciences and engineering practicum. Includes one laboratory weekly. 1 credit. Spring 2015. Smith. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
A half-semester introductory course in thermal and statistical physics. Topics include energy, heat, work, entropy, temperature (the First, Second and “Third” Laws of Thermodynamics), heat capacity, ideal gases, paramagnetism, phase transitions, and the chemical potential. This course serves as a prerequisite for PHYS 114 and for PHYS 135. Prerequisite: single-variable calculus (MATH 025 or MATH 026); may be taken as a corequisite with permission of the instructor. This class has a weekly laboratory requirement. 0.5 credit. First half of the semester. Spring 2015. Grossman. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
A half-semester introduction to geometric and wave optics, including ray diagrams, matrix optics, polarization, Jones matrices, interference, and diffraction. Prerequisite: single-variable calculus (MATH 025 or MATH 026); may be taken as a corequisite with permission of the instructor. This class has a weekly laboratory requirement. 0.5 credit. Second half of the semester. Spring 2015. Grossman. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
A half-semester survey of mathematical techniques useful in physics. Topics include eigenvalue problems, Fourier analysis, solutions to ordinary and partial differential equations, special functions, the theory of residues, and numerical methods. Prerequisite: linear algebra (MATH 027, MATH 028, or MATH 028S); corequisite: multivariable calculus (MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035). Includes a weekly numerical laboratory. 0.5 credit. First half of the semester. Spring 2015. Brown. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy
A half-semester introductory course in quantum mechanics. Topics include waves, photons, the Schrodinger equation, Dirac notation, one-dimensional potentials, quantized angular momentum, and central potentials. This course serves as a prerequisite for PHYS 113. Prerequisites: PHYS 005, PHYS 017, and MATH 027 Corequisite: multivariable calculus (MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035). This class has a weekly laboratory requirement. 0.5 credit. Second half of the semester. Spring 2015. Brown. http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy Physics and Astronomy