You need to choose a philosopher, and a particular topic addressed by that philosopher, from the list given at http://www.trinity.edu/cbrown/modern/literatureReview.html. (If you would prefer to do a topic not on the list, you need to clear it with me first. I'll be happy to accept topics that are sufficiently focused and sufficiently important.) Each student must choose a different topic from any other student; I will post the finished reviews on TLEARN so that everyone can benefit from them.
The assignment is due on Wednesday, March 4.
The literature review is to consist 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.
Each item should have a paragraph or two of annotations. Features worth mentioning in the annotations include: the main thesis defended in the piece; the
main argument or arguments for that thesis; whether the piece is readable by a
non-specialist; whether the piece gives a good overview of literature on the
topic, or is more narrowly focused.
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.
To use a different metaphor, the essay should give a bird's-eye view of the
intellectual landscape.) The paper should be approximately 4-5 pages in length
(not counting the bibliography).
Last update: February 27, 2009
Curtis Brown |
Classical Modern Philosophy | Philosophy Department
| Trinity University
cbrown@trinity.edu