About this Course
Human beings seem uniquely to be the biological entities on this planet
that ask, What are we? and, Who are we? Humans desire to know what
kind of beings they are and in what relationship they stand to the rest
of the world. The study of human beings and reflection on what it
means to be human have gone on since our earliest recorded civilizations.
The questions involved in this study and reflection have varied from time
to time and place to place, but some questions seem to recur. Are
all human beings also persons? What do the intellectual, linguistic
and emotional abilities indicate about the make-up of human beings?
When can humans be held morally accountable for what they do? Do
human beings survive death? These questions indicate the diverse
issues which arise when one asks, "What is human nature?" This course
will provide an overview both of some of the authors who have discussed
human nature and of some of the issues which they have thought important.
More details about the course and readings can be found on the Course
CD-ROM and the Blackboard Course resource site.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Students are expected to complete assigned readings for the course,
view the computer-based NetLectures for
the material covered, respond to readings and NetLectures by posting
to the Course Discussion Board, and participate in the weekly Virtual
Chats or Chat Follow-up. While students can work at their own pace,
there are schedule benchmarks and deadlines throughout the 6-week session
that must be maintained in order to maximize interaction with the instructors
and other students.
Grades for the course will be computed on the basis of a midterm exam,
participation in weekly Virtual Chat or Chat
Follow-up, contributions to the Course
Discussion Board (at least FOUR posts each week, two for each unit
of the course), and a final essay. More details regarding course
requirements can be found on this page; full details on all course
matters are found on the Course CD-ROM and the Blackboard Course Website.
Studying Philosophy via the Internet
This course will work much like any other philosophy course: it will involve
you in reading, thinking about, and discussing philosophical ideas.
The difference comes with how you will discuss the ideas you read and think
about with fellow students and your instructors. The course conversation
will take place over a course discussion board and live type-chat sessions
instead of in a traditional classroom. But the quality of conversation
should be the same or even better. (This isn't a Philosophy of Education
class, so we won't make an extensive argument for the claim that this course
can be better than a traditional on-campus course. But if you are
willing to work hard and keep up with the course work, you will probably
find that several aspects of the course--such as the ability to review
the NetLectures in order to cover points that
you have difficulty with, and the ability to reflect and formulate your
ideas before participating in class discussion on the Discussion
Board--offer advantages not found in traditional on-campus courses.)
Students considering taking an Internet course should be aware of the
special demands imposed by a course of this kind. Since there is
no scheduled time for the class to meet (apart from the weekly virtual
chat sessions), students must have sufficient self-discipline and organization
to keep up with the course throughout the term. This is especially
true given the compressed 6-week schedule of summer sessions. Even
though the class never gathers in a physical classroom, it is important
that enrolled students be available and participating in the class for
the full 6 weeks of the Summer Session. Because of the pace of the
summer session and the importance of staying on track, deadlines in the
course will be adhered to strictly. If you experience any problems
during the course, you must contact your instructors as soon as possible
to address those problems. Since there is no class meeting to allow
regular contact with the instructors, you must stay in communication by
regular participation and consistent Email contact.
TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES
Certain minimum equipment is necessary in order to take this course.
For the entire duration of the course term, students must have access to:
-
a personal computer with a CD-ROM drive (older computers will work, but
some features of the course, such as NetLectures and Virtual Chat Sessions,
will run sluggishly on older machines)
-
connection to the Internet by modem, cable modem, or network connection
(the course should work with connections of any speed better than 28kbps)
-
an up-to-date web browser--if you need to download a browser or check for
the most recent version, select one of these links:
-
the QuickTime media
player (at least version 5) to play course NetLectures from CD (the free
Player is sufficient)
-
Adobe Acrobat
Reader to view some of the course readings in .pdf format (the free
Reader is sufficient). Please note: the most recent versions of this
software (Reader 5.0 and later) include a plug-in for your web browser
that will allow you to read .pdf files through your browser.
-
OPTIONAL: RealNetworks' RealPlayer
streaming media software (look on the linked page for the free "Basic"
RealPlayer; version 7 or higher is necessary; you do NOT need
Passport or the "free trial" version of RealPlayer, which is only a temporary
free download)
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT STUDENTS VERIFY THAT
THEY HAVE RELIABLE AND READY ACCESS TO SUFFICIENT COMPUTER RESOURCES BEFORE
REGISTERING FOR THIS COURSE. IF YOUR ACCESS TO COMPUTER RESOURCES
IS UNRELIABLE, IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY CONFIGURING YOUR COMPUTER WITH THE
REQUIRED SOFTWARE, OR IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE SENDING, RECEIVING, AND
VIEWING DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMPUTER FILES YOU SHOULD NOT REGISTER FOR THE
INTERNET SECTION OF THIS COURSE.
Getting Started with the Course
GONZAGA UNIVERSITY REGISTRATION
Since the instructors want to make sure that students interested in this
PHIL 201 course understand the requirements and special expectations of
internet course work, registration for the course is by permission.
In order to receive permission to enroll in the course, students must follow
these steps:
-
review and familiarize yourself with the requirements and expectations
on this Course Information page
-
verify that you understand the expectations of an Internet Philosophy course
and that you have sufficient computer equipment and skills to successfully
complete the course
-
if you are not a current Gonzaga student, you will need to activate registration
status via the Summer
Session at Gonzaga University information page.
-
verify that you have completed Gonzaga's PHIL 101 Critical Thinking or
the appropriate transfer equivalent
-
send a confirmation Email to your instructors with your name, student ID,
Email address that will be active for the duration of the course, standard
mailing address for the course CD-ROM, and emergency phone contact.
Summer Session 1 students should send the confirmation Email to David Calhoun
(calhoun@gem.gonzaga.edu); Summer Session 2 students send the Email
to Brian Clayton (clayton@gem.gonzaga.edu). As long as there are
still open spaces in the class, the confirmation Email will be your registration.
In order to allow sufficient time to receive the Course CD-ROM by mail,
students wishing to take Internet PHIL 201 should send the confirmation
Email no later than noon on the Monday one week before the course begins.
Students registering later than this date must make arrangements with the
instructors to facilitate getting started on the course material on time.
ELECTRONIC ENROLLMENT IN BLACKBOARD
Many of the resources for the Internet version of PHIL 201--course syllabus,
Email utilities, discussion board, chat software, and so forth--are located
on the Blackboard Course site. As long as you register officially
for the course according to the instructions set out above no later than
NOON on the Monday one week before the course begins, you will be automatically
enrolled in the Blackboard web site for PHIL 201. Students who confirm
registration later will have to check with the instructors to gain access
to the Blackboard site. Students unfamiliar with Blackboard will
find instructions for accessing the site on Gonzaga's
Blackboard home page.
REQUIRED COURSE TEXTS
Before the class begins you will need to obtain the following books:
Descartes, Rene. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy.
(Translated by Donald A. Cress.) 4th ed. Hackett.
Plato. Phaedo. (Translated by G.M.A. Grube.) 2d ed. Hackett.
The following book is recommended but not required for the course:
Seech, Zachary. Writing Philosophy Papers. 3d ed. Wadsworth.
All of the books are available from the Gonzaga
University Bookstore online (follow the links for Summer Session, Philosophy
Department, and PHIL 201) or by phone at (509) 323-6390. Alternatively,
you may choose to order them yourself from a local bookstore or an online
source. You are responsible for obtaining the books by the time the
summer session begins.
Other readings will be available in online or downloadable form.
You will find links to these readings on the Course
Schedule page; updated readings and assignments are available
on the Assignments page on the Course Blackboard site.
NETLECTURES
The primary instructional content for the course is delivered via "NetLectures,"
which are narrated presentations on course topics and readings in QuickTime
format that are included on the course CD-ROM. The Course CD-ROM
will be mailed approximately 1-2 weeks prior to the beginning of the course
to students who have confirmed their registration in the course.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are taking the
course from outside the continental United States, you should contact the
instructors to arrange for the NetLecture CD to be mailed to you sufficiently
early to begin the course on time. Be sure that the mailing address
you provide to the instructors is where you will be when the course begins.
The NetLectures are also available in streaming RealPlayer format over
the Internet. However, our experience is that bandwidth and connectivity
problems make the CD-ROM format much more reliable for viewing NetLectures.
VIRTUAL CHAT SESSIONS
Virtual chat sessions each week are an important facet of the interaction
of this course. Students are required to attend and participate in
these virtual type-chat sessions if at all possible. The instructors
understand that schedule conflicts and summer events may prevent students
from attending some of the chat sessions (just as students in on-campus
classes sometimes find it necessary to miss classes), but the chat sessions
are an important part of the Internet course experience. After any
chat session a student may post to the chat follow-up discussion board
within 24 hours of the start of the chat time. Students unable to
attend the chat should review the chat transcript and then post their remarks.
SUMMER 2004 SESSION I VIRTUAL CHAT SESSION TIMES
(all times are PDT / local Spokane time)
|
|
SUMMER SESSION 1 |
SUMMER SESSION 2 |
| COURSE ORIENTATION/INTRODUCTION |
Sunday, May 16, 9 pm |
Sunday, June 27, 9 pm |
| WEEK ONE CHAT |
Wednesday, May 19, 12 noon |
Wednesday, June 30, 12 noon |
| WEEK TWO CHAT |
Wednesday, May 26, 9 pm |
Wednesday, July 7, 9 pm |
| WEEK THREE CHAT |
Wednesday, June 2, 12 noon |
Wednesday, July 14, 12 noon |
| WEEK FOUR CHAT |
Wednesday, June 9, 9 pm |
Wednesday, July 21, 9 pm |
| WEEK FIVE CHAT |
Wednesday, June 16, 12 noon |
Wednesday, July 28, 12 noon |
| WEEK SIX CHAT |
Wednesday, June 23, 9 pm |
Wednesday, August 4, 9 pm |
DISCUSSION BOARD
Each week that the course is in session, students will be required to submit
at least FOUR posts to the course discussion board (at least TWO 200- to
250-word postings for each unit covered each week). The discussion
board is meant to be an "electronic conversation," so students should read
and respond to the posts already on the board when they post their own
comments. At least ONE of the postings for each unit must therefore
explicitly respond to postings by other students. More details about
the discussion board posting requirements can be found in the Course
Syllabus.
Course Contacts
If you have any questions about the course, please contact your instructors:
David Calhoun--calhoun@gem.gonzaga.edu--509-323-6743
Brian Clayton--clayton@gem.gonzaga.edu--509-323-6744
Copyright © 1998-2004 by David H. Calhoun and Brian
B. Clayton. All rights reserved. This page last updated on
March 17, 2004.
