Text Course I

Course Objective

The aim of the course is to teach students how to read a philosophical text and how to formulate their own questions after reading it.
After completing this course, you will be able to critically analyze ancient philosophical texts, by
1) critically reading philosophical texts (in translation),
2) analysing philosophical arguments,
3) formulating your own questions,
4) discussing with peers,
5) presenting your own response to the text and its arguments in writing.

Course Content

This course will focus on Plato's Republic. Plato's Republic is among the most influential philosophical texts in the history of Anglo-European philosophical traditions and others such traditions comes into contact with. This course invites students to familiarise themselves with the key topics with a focus on some of its seminal passages, as well as to analyse and to engage critically with their arguments. Active participation by the students is required. Students who complete the course will acquire not only knowledge of the key philosophical themes discussed in the Republic, but also a general understanding of the main conceptual issues related to the text.

Teaching Methods

Introductory lectures; close reading seminars

Method of Assessment

The assessment for this course consists of small individual writing assignments and oral group presentations for each class (pass/fail, assessing learning objectives 1-4) and a final paper at the end of the course (determining the final grade, assessing learning objectives 1-3, 5). If a student fails more than 20% of the smaller assignments, an additional small assignment has to be made.

Recommended background knowledge

General knowledge of the history of ancient philosophy (especially Greek) is required for this course. Those who have not attended a course on the history of Ancient Philosophy and/or are not familiar with its topics are required to acquaint themselves with some key texts in ancient philosophy, in addition to the primary and secondary literature for this course. Please contact the teacher for more information.