Downloadable Syllabus:  PHI 2010 Fall 2021 (CRN 10480).docx

 

Lake-Sumter State College Course Syllabus

 

Course Information:

Course Prefix and Number: PHI 2010

Course Title: Introduction to Philosophy

CRN: 10480

Credit Hours: 3

Semester: Fall 2021

Class Days, Location, Time: Traditional Online (Asynchronous)

Course Description: A study and critical evaluation of such major philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Kant, Hegel, the Analytic Philosophers, and the Modern Existentialists.

Instructor Information:

Name: Dr. C.J. Eland

E-Mail: elandc@lssc.edu              

Office Location: Online

Phone: TBD

Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:00pm-3:00pm (by appointment)

Vital Communication Information:

For e-mail, please note that all students are required to use Lakehawk Mail for official college e-mail communications. See the college webpage for instructions on activating Lakehawk Mail.

Sending a private message using the INBOX in Canvas is always the most secure method of contacting your instructor.

Please remember that any contact with your Instructor should be of a professional nature. If you leave a voice mail message be clear, concise, and include your contact and class information. Follow up verbal conversations with a written account via INBOX in Canvas or e-mail.

Prerequisites/Co-requisites:

Prerequisites: C or higher in ENC 1101 or documented consent of instructor
Co-requisites: None

Textbook & Other Course Materials:

No textbook required.

All readings will be provided through Canvas from Open Educational Resource (OER) material.

Technology Requirements:

Canvas is a required component of this course. Students unfamiliar with Canvas are expected to complete the Student Orientation course located in Canvas within the first week of classes.

See the LSSC Student Technology Help Desk web page for more information on how to obtain Microsoft Office 365 as an LSSC student.

Major writing assignments need to be created and saved in a file format that is compatible with Microsoft Word.  If using a word processing program other than Word, it is the student’s responsibility to adhere to all formatting and submission requirements. Please ask for help if you are unsure how to save a file in a Word-compatible format.

Course Student Learning Outcomes:

The following outcomes will be assessed in this course.  An “outcome” is defined as something students take with them beyond this course. After successful completion of this course, the student will…

• be able to produce well-written, critical short papers.
• be able to accurately interpret and explain philosophical texts and schools of thought.
• be able to construct cogent and valid arguments.

Course Objectives:

Objectives are defined as what the course will do and/or what the students will do as part of the course.

• To familiarize students with the major themes in history of philosophy.
• To sharpen students’ analytic reasoning skills in evaluating arguments.
• To improve students’ writing and argumentative practices.
• To critically evaluate the philosophical dimension of some pressing contemporary issues.

Institutional Policies & Procedures:

Academic Integrity:

The successful functioning of the academic community demands honesty, which is the basis of respect for both ideas and persons. In the academic community, there is an ongoing assumption of academic integrity at all levels. There is the expectation that work will be independently thoughtful and responsible as to its sources of information and inspiration. Honesty is an appropriate consideration in other ways as well, including but not limited to the responsible use of library resources, responsible conduct in examinations, and the responsible use of the Internet. See the college catalog for complete statement.

Important Information for Students with Disabilities:

Any student with a documented disability who requires assistance or academic accommodations should contact the Student Accessibility Services immediately to discuss eligibility. The Student Accessibility Services (SAS) is located on the Leesburg Campus, but arrangements can be made to meet with a student on any campus. An appointment can be made by calling 352-365-3589 and specific information about SAS and potential services can be found at Student Accessibility Services.

Privacy Policy (FERPA):

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of a student’s education records.  In order for your information to be released, a form must be signed and, in your records, located in the Admissions/Registrar’s Office.

Zero-Tolerance for Violence Statement:

Lake-Sumter State College has a policy of zero tolerance for violence as stated in College Board Rule 2.17.  Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with Board Rule 2.17.

LSSC Safety Statement:

Lake-Sumter State College values the safety of all campus community members. If you have an emergency, call 911. Otherwise, to report a concern, suspicious activity, or to request a courtesy escort, call Campus Safety:

(352) 516-3795 Leesburg

(352) 536-2143 South Lake

(352) 303-7296 Sumter

 

LSSC also has a free safety app, Lake-Sumter Safe that is available for download. You will receive important emergency alerts and safety messages regarding campus safety via LSSC Alert. You are opted into this system when you become an LSSC student. For more information regarding safety and to view available resources, visit the Campus Safety web page.

 

Attendance/Withdrawal Policies

Initial Attendance:

Initial attendance will be entered at the end of the second week of the semester/mini-mester.  A student who has not met initial attendance requirements will be marked as “not-attending” and administratively withdrawn from the class.  The withdrawn student is still financially responsible for the class. See the college catalog for more details. 

Withdrawal:

Once the Add/Drop period passes, students deciding to discontinue class attendance and/or online participation have the responsibility for formal withdrawal by the withdrawal deadline.

Withdrawal Deadline:

11/1/2021

Instructor Policies:

Reading the assigned material is essential for all class meetings. Participation means coming to class prepared to discuss your own individual reflections on the material. Some texts will be difficult and the challenge of overcoming that difficulty is exactly why the text is worthy of our time. 

Extra credit will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances. At the discretion of the instructor, additional opportunities to earn extra credit may be offered to make up missed assignments or slightly improve upon grades. Extra credit work will need to be on a topic approved by the instructor and of exceptional quality in order to be considered for credit.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. The consequences of submitting plagiarized work will be severe. Students submitting plagiarized work will immediately receive a 0 for the assignment and may be immediately failed for the course. Academic dishonesty can also result in suspension or dismissal from the college and will be reported to the dean of students.

Plagiarism is defined as representing another person’s work or ideas as your own. If you have any doubts as to what this might mean, please see your instructor prior to submitting any assignment for the course. This policy applies to all work submitted by the student, including Canvas discussion posts.

Late Work/Extensions:

Absolutely no late assignments will be accepted unless previously agreed to by the instructor. Writing assignments must be completed through Canvas and submitted by the posted deadline.

Classroom Etiquette:

Philosophical discussions can address themes which some students might find uncomfortable or personally offensive. In order to maintain a healthy learning environment, students will be required to uphold a high standard of civil discourse. Rude, dismissive or condescending comments will not be tolerated. This policy applies to all interactions with your fellow students in Canvas or any other means of interaction. If you believe another student has failed to uphold this standard, please see your instructor to discuss the matter.

Recorded lectures will be posted on Youtube and embedded in Canvas. These lectures are not public and are meant only for use during this course.

Grading Information:

Grading Scale: 

A 90-100%

B 80-89%

C 70-79%

D 60-69%

F 59% and below

 

Methods of Evaluation:

Your work will be judged against accepted academic standards for writing and documentation.

 

Assignment Overview & Grade Breakdown:

 

Category	Description	Points or %
Short Reflection Papers	Reflection papers will be required to address a prompt relating to our course readings. Papers must demonstrate critical engagement with the reading and the main ideas being discussed. Minimum 250 words.	20%
Reading Quizzes	Each reading will have a reading quiz due before class. This is meant to encourage you to keep up with the readings and come to class ready to discuss them. They can be taken open book and repeated as many times as necessary, only your highest score will count.	10%
Lecture Quizzes	Each recorded lecture will have a quiz embedded within the video. These must be completed prior to class sessions where each reading will be discussed.	10%
Discussion Posts	Most weekly modules will have a discussion post which will serve as our primary mode of interaction on Canvas. Posts will need to contain a thoughtful response to the prompt and students must respond to at least 1 post by a colleague in order to receive full credit.	10%
Papers	3 papers will be required (minimum 1000 words each) demonstrating serious critical engagement with at least two of the texts covered in our course.	50%

Course Calendar:

 

Week	Begins	Ends	Objectives & Reading Assignments	Items Due
1	Aug 23	Aug 27	Plato – Apology (Originals, 3-17, OER)	Week 1 Reading Quiz Week 1 Lecture Quiz Week 1 Discussion Post
2	Aug 30	Sept 3	Plato – Allegory of the Cave (Originals 111-115, OER) Plato – On Forms (Originals 116-124, OER)	Week 2 Reading Quiz Week 2 Lecture Quiz Week 2 Discussion Post Reflection Essay #1
3	Sept 6	Sept 10	Aristotle – On Categories (Originals 125 – 128, OER) Aquinas – Five Ways (Originals 152-153, OER	Week 3 Reading Quiz Week 3 Lecture Quiz Week 3 Discussion Post
4	Sept 13	Sept 17	First Paper	First Paper
5	Sept 20	Sept 24	Descartes – On Doubt and Certainty (Originals 25-33, OER)	Week 5 Reading Quiz Week 5 Lecture Quiz Week 5 Discussion Post
6	Sept 27	Oct 1	Locke – On the Foundation of Knowledge (Originals 34-43, OER) Hume – On Empiricism (Originals 78-84, OER)	Week 6 Reading Quiz Week 6 Lecture Quiz Week 6 Discussion Post Reflection Essay #2
7	Oct 4	Oct 8	Kant – On The Sources of Knowledge (Originals 85-95, OER) Nietzsche – Twilight of the Idols (PDF)	Week 7 Reading Quiz Week 7 Lecture Quiz Week 7 Discussion Post
8	Oct 11	Oct 15	Second Paper	Second Paper
9	Oct 18	Oct 22	Hobbes – On the Social Contract (Originals 299-313, OER)	Week 9 Reading Quiz Week 9 Lecture Quiz Week 9 Discussion Post
10	Oct 25	Oct 29	Locke – On Property and the Formation of Societies (Originals 314-329, OER)	Week 10 Reading Quiz Week 10 Lecture Quiz Week 10 Discussion Post Reflection Essay #3
11	Nov 1	Nov 5	Marx and Engels – On Communism (Originals 362-379, OER)	Week 11 Reading Quiz Week 11 Lecture Quiz Week 11 Discussion Post
12	Nov 8	Nov 12	DuBois –The Souls of Black Folk (PDF)	Week 12 Reading Quiz Week 12 Lecture Quiz Week 12 Discussion Post Reflection Essay #4
13	Nov 15	Nov 19	DeBeauvoir – The Second Sex, Introduction (PDF)	Week 13 Reading Quiz Week 13 Lecture Quiz Week 13 Discussion Post
14	Nov 22	Nov 23	bell hooks – Theory as Liberatory Practice (PDF)	Week 14 Reading Quiz Week 14 Lecture Quiz
15	Nov 29	Dec 3	Third Paper	Third Paper
Finals	Dec 6	Dec 10		-
Grades	Dec 13	-	Grades uploaded into Banner by 12pm	-

 

Basic Needs Statement: 

Any student who faces challenges securing basic needs such as food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is encouraged to contact a campus dean at deanofstudents@lssc.edu. The deans will then be able to share any resources at their disposal.

 

Syllabus Disclaimer:

Information contained in this syllabus is, to the best knowledge of this instructor, considered correct and complete when distributed to students. The instructor reserves the right, acting within policies and procedures of Lake-Sumter State College, to make necessary changes in course content or instructional techniques with notification to students.