Graduate Program (& Advanced Certificate) Status
This course will examine recent controversies in the philosophy of gender and race, focusing on contemporary research within the analytic philosophical tradition. The first part of the course will center around the question, ‘What is gender?’. We will consider various answers to this question, including the view that gender is a social position, that it is an identity, that it is a conferred social status, that it is a historical kind, and that it is a biological category. The second part of the course will center around the question, ‘What is race?’. We will consider various answers to this question, including the view that race is not real, that it is biologically real, and that it is a social construct. In the third part of the course, we will examine different ways of construing the debate over what gender and race are.
Upon completing the course, students will gain an understanding of recent debates in the philosophy of gender and race. Students will be able to explain and critically evaluate some of the main competing accounts of gender and race in the philosophical literature, and they will be able to explain and critically evaluate different ways of construing these debates. Students will also be able to articulate and defend their own views on these issues in a rigorous and thoughtful way.
For students taking the course for a Grade:
- One in-class presentation, 10-15 minutes in length: 15%. Over the course of the term, students will give a presentation on one of the course readings either individually or with a partner. The presentation must involve critical evaluation of the author’s arguments. It may also relate the reading to current events. Students will sign up for a presentation slot at the beginning of the term.
- Perusall comments on course readings: 15%. Students must submit a minimum of 2 comments on the required reading for 9 of the 12 class meetings. The deadline for submission of Perusall comments is 5 pm on Thursdays.
- Final paper, 2000 words in length: 70%. The final paper will be due on the first day of the Spring term. Students will be required to submit a 1-page paper proposal in week 9.
- Excellent class participation will boost the final grade in borderline cases.
For students taking the course for an Audit:
- Regular class attendance and participation.
One previous course in a related area of philosophy (e.g., metaphysics, social and political philosophy, or philosophy of language)
