Spring, 2006

From the syllabus:

This will count 20% of the final grade. Each member of the class will select a philosopher and a particular topic addressed by that philosopher, and will prepare a review of the literature on the philosopher's views on the topic for distribution to the class. The review will include an annotated bibliography including both book and journal sources. (Internet sources may be listed as well, but will not substitute for listings of the published literature. It remains true that much of the best literature on these topics is not yet available on line.) It will also include a concise (say 4-5 pages) summary of some of the main interpretive debates and positions discussed in the literature. Topics will be chosen from a list I will distribute. Each class member must select a different combination of philosopher and topic.

Additional Information:

The assignment is due on Monday, February 27.

The literature review is to consists of two parts.

1. An annotated bibliography, consisting of a minimum of eight items (book chapters and journal articles). This is to be a selective bibliography: the idea is not that these will be the only eight pieces you have looked at, but rather that they will have been selected from a larger body of material because of their usefulness.

The annotations need not be elaborate. Features worth mentioning in the annotations include: the main thesis defended in the piece; the thoroughness of the piece; its accessibility; etc.

2. The second part of the project is an overview of the literature you have selected. This is not to be an argumentative essay in which you defend a view of your own, but neither is it to be a simple cut-and-paste job. Rather, the idea is to distill from the readings an overview of the main contested issues relevant to your topic; the main positions taken by scholars on these issues; and some of the main considerations offered in defense of these positions. (More colloquially, the idea is to determine the state of intellectual play on your issue: who the main players are, what positions they are defending, and what their strategies for defending these views are.)