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Contemporary Continental Philosophy Eastern Philosophy Comparative Philosophy Dean Rosemary Drage Hale Faculty of Humanities Associate Dean Jane Koustas Faculty of Humanities Core Faculty Professors Wing-Cheung Chan (Philosophy), R. Raj Singh (Philosophy) Associate Professors Michael Berman (Philosophy), Richard S. G. Brown (Philosophy), Christine Daigle (Philosophy) Assistant Professors Athena Colman (Philosophy), Rohit Dalvi (Philosophy), Rajiv Kaushik (Philosophy), Brian Lightbody (Philosophy) Graduate Program Director Michael Berman Administrative Assistant Irene Cherrington 905-688-5550, extension 3315 573 Glenridge Ave. |
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The Master's program focuses on two areas: recent and contemporary European and Asian thought. The program also accommodates the rise in importance of postmodern continental thinkers (mainly French and German philosophers). Such inclusions indicate the type of dynamic rapport the Department wishes to keep with the wider philosophical community. Consequently, the majority of courses offered in any one year will be selected from the following specializations: Contemporary Continental Philosophy (Existentialism, Phenomenology, Hermeneutics): Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, Marcel, Buber, Scheler, Merleau-Ponty, Gadamer, or some contemporary European movement, such as Structuralism, the Frankfurt School, or Postmodernism: Derrida, Levinas, Deleuze, or Bataille. Eastern Philosophy: Indian and Upanishadic Philosophy: texts from the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy, especially Vedanta, Early Indian Buddhist traditions, especially Madhyamika schools; Bhakti traditions, Gandhi; Chinese Philosophy, especially Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism. Comparative Philosophy: Comparison of Eastern and Western traditions with respect to problems of being, knowledge, person, values, and philosophical method. In addition, from time to time, half-courses and tutorials may be offered on the following topics: Issues in recent Anglo-American (Analytic) Philosophy, Studies in Classical Philosophy (Pre-Socratics, Plato and/or Aristotle), Process Philosophy (Bergson, Whitehead, Hartshorne). These topics fall outside the principal focus of the graduate program, but are represented by individual members of the Department. (If in a given year a half-credit in one of the above happens not to be offered, an individual tutorial therein may be arranged.) |
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Successful completion of an Honours Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, in Philosophy with an overall average not less than 75%. Applicants must supply a statement of interest. Knowledge of languages other than English may be required as appropriate. The Graduate Admissions Committee will review all applications and recommend admission for a limited number of suitable candidates. Individuals interested in part-time study should consult with the Graduate Program Director. |
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In order to complete the degree requirements for the Master of Arts in Philosophy, there are two paths from which to choose: the M.A. thesis option, which requires the successful completion of four half-credits in the philosophy program and a thesis, and the major essay option, which requires the successful completion of eight half-credits as well as a major essay. Thesis candidates are limited to a maximum of one half-credit directed reading course; major essay candidates may take up to two one half-credit directed reading courses. The Graduate Program Director of the Department must approve the program of any graduate student. The MA program is designed to be normally completed in one year (twelve months) of full-time studies. |
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Students must check to ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met. MA Major Essay A research project involving the preparation and defence of a major essay which shall demonstrate capacity for independent work and original research and thought. Note: completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade and credit in PHIL 5F48. MA Research and Thesis A research project involving the preparation and defence of a thesis which shall demonstrate capacity for independent work and original research and thought. Note: completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade in PHIL 5F99. Advanced Studies in Political Philosophy A critical examination of either a particular thinker or problem in political philosophy. Political thinkers may include Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, J. S. Mill, Rawls and Nozick. Problems may include liberty and political organization, justice and equality, human nature and order, civil disobedience, participation and consent, liberalism, anarchism, socialism and conservatism. Sartre A study of the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre as discussed in his literary and philosophical works. Merleau-Ponty Examination of perceptual and cognitive issues in the moral, aesthetic and phenomenological philosophy of this French thinker. Critical exploration of his reception in the post-structuralist and post-analytic traditions. Foucault A study of the earlier and later works of Michel Foucault. Themes discussed may include archaeology, genealogy, discipline, power, knowledge, subjectivity and sexuality. Nietzsche A study of the philosophical ideas of Fredrich Nietzsche. Husserl and Transcendental Phenomenology Basic issues and methods of phenomenological philosophy will be studied and explored with reference to some of the major works of Husserl. Simone De Beauvoir A study of the philosophical ideas of Simone De Beauvoir. Habermas An examination of the philosophical ideas of Jurgen Habermas as found in Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, Truth and Justification, and Post-Metaphysical Thinking. Heidegger A study of Martin Heidegger's Being and Time and selected later works on themes such as fundamental ontology, analytic of Dasein, truth, language and art. Merleau-Ponty and Nagarjuna Critical development of comparative philosophical analysis. Examination of issues in phenomenology, existentialism and soteriology. Kant and the 18th Century Historical study of the thought of Immanuel Kant in the context of the 18th-century enlightenment, focusing primarily on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Modern Philosophical Studies: Hegel and the 19th Century Historical study of the thought of Georg W. F. Hegel in the context of the 19th century. Vedanta A study of Vedantic thought in the Non-Dualistic, Dualistic and other schools. Problems discussed include identity, difference, maya, reality, liberation and non-dualism. Merleau-Ponty: The Art of Perception (also offered as SCLA 5P71) Merleau-Ponty's treatments and analyses of the visual (painting and film) and literary arts, seen as products, explorations and distortions of human perception and embodied subjectivity, which shed light on our cultural and pre-cultural experiences of the world. Directed Reading I Research course with directed study and regular meetings with a faculty member, covering topics not offered in a designated course. Directed Reading II Research course with directed study and regular meetings with a faculty member, covering topics not offered in a designated course. Studies in Contemporary Philosophy Topics may include a contemporary philosophical genre such as French Feminism or be focused more narrowly on a single contemporary philosopher, for example, Merleau-Ponty or Deleuze. 2010-2011: French Feminism Focuses primarily on Julia Kristeva and Luce Irigaray but may also include other French feminist thinkers since 1970 including Hélène Cixous. 2010-2011: Deleuze Considers the works of Deleuze (some with Guattari) examining concepts of identity and difference, monism and pluralism, multiplicities, lines of flight, body without organs and Deleuze's interpretations of Spinoza and Nietzsche in light of these concepts. Advanced Studies in Eastern Philosophy Concentrated critical and interpretive study of selected texts in the areas of: Advaita Vedanta, Yoga, Madhyamika and Yogacara schools of Buddhism, or Chinese Philosophy. 2010-11: The Bhagavad-Gita A critical examination of the metaphysics, ethics, and psychology of the Gita vis-a-vis the Upanishads, Samkhya, Yoga, and early Buddhism. 2010 - 2011: Advanced Studies in Comparative Philosophy Focuses primarily on the comparison of philosophical figures, concepts, and problems from both contemporary continental thought as well as eastern thought (e.g., Buddhism, Vedanta, Taoism). 2010-2011: Nietzsche and Buddhism Examines Nietzsche's concepts of will to power and self-overcoming in light of early (Theravada) Buddhism. 2010-2011: Yogacara and Phenomenology An analysis of Sthiramati's interpretation of Vasubandhu's Trimsika-Vijnapti employing Sartre's phenomenology of consciousness as a theoretical framework. 2010-2011: Comparative Methodologies Offered by various members of the department and focusing primarily on the question of philosophical methodogy from a cross-cultural perspective. |
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2010-2011 Graduate Calendar
Last updated: August 6, 2010 @ 10:47AM