Spring 2019
Indigenous Feminisms
PHIL 5050 · Dr. Elisabeth Paquette · Monday, 2:30-5:15
The course focuses on Indigenous feminist writings that both aim toward a constructive project of maintaining and respecting Indigenous ways of life, and that seek to address the detrimental consequences of U.S. and Canadian settler colonialism. We begin with a theoretical analysis of key concepts such as settler colonialism, Indigeneity, gender, and institutional racism. Using these key concepts, we will then examine present-day colonial formations located through state-sponsored child and family welfare services, patterns of incarceration, high rates of sexual violence, and the displacement of Indigenous peoples from their traditional lands. Lastly, we examine state-based efforts to address the needs of Indigenous communities, and collective strategies of resistance practiced by Indigenous women.
Latin American Thought
PHIL 6050 · Dr. Andrea Pitts · Tuesday, 5:30-8:15
This course will provide an overview of major trends in Latin American thought from the pre-Columbian period to the present day. Methodologically, we will focus on texts by authors working in the areas of Latin American cultural studies, philosophy, subaltern studies, feminism, and postcolonial/decolonial theory. Themes we will discuss include: cultural agency and revolution, philosophy of liberation, intellectualism and cosmopolitanism, gender, race, class, and sexuality, positivism and evolutionary theory, nationalism and pan-national identity, indigenismo, blanqueamiento, and mestizaje, hybridity and transculturation, and globalization and neocolonialism.
Philosophical Methods & Analysis
PHIL 6120 · Dr. Trevor Pearce · Wednesday, 1:25-4:10
This course is an introduction to the various methods of doing philosophy—not only to the analytical reading and writing skills you will need as a graduate student, but also to various philosophical traditions, each characterized by a certain approach to philosophical problems. Philosophy at UNCC is intertraditional, meaning that our students and faculty draw from many traditions of philosophy rather than focusing on a single approach. We will begin the class by examining three broad traditions: history of philosophy, analytic philosophy, and continental philosophy. We will then turn to a few of the ‘methods’ used by those working in and across these traditions: phenomenology, genealogy, and pragmatism. Finally, we will investigate of series of areas and approaches that are prominent in our own department: applied ethics, feminism, Latin American philosophy, Africana philosophy, and critical philosophy of race. Throughout the class, you will get to know your fellow first-year graduate students as well as many faculty members here, since most classes will include a visit from a specialist in the relevant approach to philosophy.
Research Ethics in Biomedical & Behavioral Sciences
PHIL 6240 · Dr. Lisa Rasmussen · Thursday, 1:00-3:45
This course is designed to identify the fundamental elements that characterize not only methodologically grounded but also morally appropriate scientific research. Class discussion and readings will focus on key issues in biomedical and behavioral research including informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, risk-benefit assessments, mechanisms for protecting animal and human research subjects, international research, vulnerable populations, conflicts of interest and data management, publication ethics, intellectual property issues and the politics of research.
Feminist Theory and Its Applications
PHIL 6320 · Dr. Elisabeth Paquette · Wednesday, 5:30-8:15
The primary concern in this course is the intersection of gender and language. Specifically, we will address how writers attempt to represent gender through the act of writing, paying particular attention to the limits of language, relations between dominant narratives and marginal feminist perspectives, and consider ways of disrupting these dominant narratives. This course begins with French feminist theorists, such as Simone de Beauvoir, Luce Irigaray, and Julia Kristeva and their performances of feminine écriture (feminine writing), a technique which aims to create space for women centered theories of gender through writing. However, this course also seeks to further displace problematic sex and gender categories by examining decolonial, queer, and anti-racist frameworks of analysis by such authors as Sylvia Wynter and Monique Wittig.
MA Research Paper
PHIL 6999 · Dr. Gordon Hull · Tuesday, 1:00-3:45
In this course, students will begin with a previously submitted course paper and spend the semester revising it. The goal is for each student to produce a polished, professional paper worthy of submission to a philosophical journal. Additional reading and research on the topic will be conducted, and multiple steps of revision and presentation of work in progress will be included.