BEF 504 Gadsden, Spring 2011 Seinfeld, Philosophy, and Education

John Petrovic                                                                       petrovic@bamaed.ua.edu

 323c Graves Hall                                                                  www.bama.ua.edu/~jpetrovi 

 348 0465                                                                                                               

Catalogue Description

An examination into the meaning and purpose of education in light of major philosophical problems of knowledge, value, and reality. Offered in alternate semesters and in summer school.

Course Overview

This course is a survey of the Philosophy of Education. Its purpose is to provide an introductory review of some of the major branches of philosophical inquiry --epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics, and axiology -- and of the major schools of thought that have shaped the field.

The course will be artificially divided into four units in which we will explicitly consider three of the major branches of philosophy: epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy. In so doing, we will sort through the myriad ways that philosophy, as a discipline, can inform the ways that we look at the practices, policies, and purposes of formal education. Thus, our working assumption is that there is some relationship between the fields of philosophy and education. Connecting philosophy and its intellectual tools to education is a step in the process of developing a philosophy of education that addresses a number of questions: What should we teach in schools? How should we teach it? Why should we teach it? To whom should we teach it? It should be clear here why the study of the specific branches of philosophy must be pursued, even if only in an introductory way. For example, how can we judge what knowledge to teach before understanding what it means to know?

The course will be an exercise in understanding what philosophy is, what philosophers do, and how they think. We will begin each unit by defining the branch of philosophy on which we are working and then proceed to engage in readings that provide different conceptualizations of it. We will also attempt to illustrate a particular philosophical point/position through Seinfeld. At the end of each unit, we will become philosophers by analyzing real, in-school cases that involve philosophical questions. In other words, you will attempt to apply your new trade. Ultimately, the best teachers are philosophers, not technicians. For it is this that makes teaching a profession.

Required Texts

Irwin, W. (Ed.)(2000). Seinfeld and philosophy. Chicago: Open Court.

Noddings, N. (2007). Philosophy of education [2^nd ed.]. Boulder: Westview Press.

Additional readings are available online. Just click on the author's name on the schedule of readings below.

General Policies

Submission of assignments: All written work should be word-processed, double-spaced, have 11 or 12 point font, and follow APA style for references and citations. Late assignments will be penalized 2 points for each day or part thereof that they are late. Requests for extensions will be honored if made at least 3 days prior to the due date. Your paper should have a title page and numbered pages. DO NOT put it in a folder, plastic cover, binder, etc.

Statement of Equal Treatment and Disabilities. The instructor and students in this course will act with integrity and strive to engage in equitable behavior with respect to differences arising from age, gender, race, physical ability, religious preferences, sexual orientation, and national origin. If you are registered with the Office of Disability Services, make an appointment with the instructor as soon as possible to discuss any course accommodations that may be necessary to assure your full participation in the class. If you have a disability but have not contacted the Office of Disability Services, please call 354-5175 or visit Osband Hall to register for services.

Academic honesty: I read all assignments thoroughly. Quotation marks should be used if the material is copied directly from the readings and text citations should be used. Quotations are followed by the author, year, and page number in parenthesis of the source of the quote (Petrovic, 1998, p. 15). If you paraphrase something, put just the author and year after the paraphrased material (Petrovic, 1998). You will be in violation of The University of Alabama policies if you fail to follow standard referencing rules. Submitting work done for another class, submitting someone else’s work as your own, copying and pasting from the internet, are all violations. (Internet sources may be used, but you must follow standard referencing rules.) All suspected cases of plagiarism will be referred to the Associate Dean for any action she might wish to take. Please see the College of Education statement on plagiarism for more information.

Attendance: Informed discussion, exchange of ideas, and debate comprise the heart of the class. Thus, attendance at every class meeting is expected and your grade will reflect your attendance in combination with your participation (see “grading” below). I appreciate that family or professional responsibilities may arise, not to mention illnesses. Your first absence will not be counted against you. Barring any unusual extenuating circumstances, all others will. (For example, a death in the family would count as one such circumstance a long-held reservation for a few days away at a swank resort would not.) Regardless of the cause, a 2-3 page reading reflection will be required to make up for any absences beyond the first.

Grading and Assignments

1.  Attendance and Participation. 10 points.          

Participation involves drawing from class reading, discussion, and your own professional experience (and, importantly, connecting these) to ask questions, answer questions, pose problems, brainstorm, provide critique, analyze, proffer opinions, among other things.  As regards opinions, please note that they are not free and you are not entitled to them in this class. All opinions must be paid for through reading, dialogue, and reflection.

2. Case study paper (x3). 30 points each.

Choose one of the case studies indicated for each unit and write a 4-6 page paper in which you provide an analysis of the case. Depending on the unit in which you are writing, in what ways does the case involve questions of epistemology, ethics, or political philosophy? What might some of the authors we have read say about the case in terms of how/why it is a question of epistemology, ethics, or political philosophy? In order to answer the questions provided at the end of the case, what questions and/or assumptions do you need to raise and clarify (as an epistemologist, ethicist, or political philosopher) PRIOR to addressing the questions. (Note: The assignment here is NOT to answer the questions per se.)  

You may choose to develop your own case study, drawing from your own experience for these assignments. You may also choose to adapt any of the case studies to fit your own intellectual or professional needs.                  

3. Letter grades will reflect the standard as follows: 100-90, A; 90-80, B; and so on. This   

    standard will be strictly followed (i.e., 89 is the same as 80 to my mind).

Schedule of Topics and Readings

(All readings not from one of the two texts are linked. Click on the author's name to download.)

Date	Topic		Reading/Discussion Questions	Reading	Seinfeld Ep.
Jan. 13	Course overview		What is a philosophical question?	None	None
Unit 1: A survey of the philosophers and philosophies of/and education
Jan. 20	Philosophy of/and education, the beginnings	What is philosophy? What is philosophy of education? Or should we say philosophy and education?		Knight Noddings, Ch. 1	The Chinese Restaurant, #16; The Voice, #150
		What is analytic philosophy? Is anything nothing? Can we “teach” “nothing”?		Noddings, Ch. 3 Irwin, Chs. 5 & 8	The pitch, #42
Feb. 17		Who was Socrates? Is Jerry Socrates? Should we educate as Socrates? For Socrates? Can George be happy? What does Aristotle’s (and George’s) description of and quest for happiness tell us about how we might want to “school” children? How does this fit with Rousseau, Neil, Pestalozzi, and/or Dewey?		Plato’s Apology Irwin, Chs. 1 & 2 Noddings, Ch. 2	The fix-up, #33; The pool guy, #112
Unit 2: Epistemology and Education
March 3	Defining epistemology	What is epistemology? What are some key questions raised in the field? What is its relationship to education?		Thayer-Bacon Dewey Plato (pp. 221-235) Noddings,Ch. 6	The gymnast, # 92
	Existential epistemology: The absurd	What is existentialism? What is an existential epistemology?		Noddings, pp. 61-72 Irwin, Chs. 4 & 7	The engagement, #111 ;The bizarre Jerry, # 137
March 24	Truth, knowledge, and standpoint critiques of the immutable	What are some concerns about traditional conceptualizations of knowledge? If there is truth, whose is it? What should we teach? How should we teach it? Why? From whose perspective for whom? How does Elaine illustrate standpoint epistemology?		Hill Collins Roland Martin Rorty Noddings, pp. 213-219 Irwin, Ch. 3	The sponge, #113
Paper #1 due Monday, March 28: Case Study #9, 11, or 15
Unit 3: Ethics and Education
March 31	Ethics of the profession and the case of censorship	What NEA ethics are betrayed in the  cases presented by Hare and Medjuck? How? What are the key tensions involved in trying to resolve these cases? Which side of the tension should “win”? How? Why? What are the limits of freedom of expression generally and in schools? How and why do we censor others and ourselves generally and in schools?		NEA Code of Professional Ethics Hare Medjuck Irwin, Ch. 11	The outing, #55
	Ethics and the moral life: Two kinds of ethical judgments	What is the basic difference between Kantian and Aristotelian ethics? Choose one of the cases from last week and think about how K and A might go about deliberating it.		Noddings, ch. 8 Kant Aristotle
April 14	Virtue ethics, cont.	How might a Kantian, an Aristotelian, and a utilitarian determine the rightness or wrongness of Jerry’s decision to not be an “orgy guy”?		Cafaro Irwin, ch. 13	The switch, #93
	Promoting the ethical and moral life in schools: Caring	What does it mean to educate for “the moral life”? How does an ‘ethic of care’ inform this question? In what ways are each of Kelly’s four approaches “caring” or not?		Greene Noddings, pp. 221-234 Irwin, ch. 12 Kelly
Paper #2 due Monday, April 18: Case Study #10, 20, 22, 40, or 44
Unit 4: Politics, Education, and Reform
April 21	Political philosophy: Democracy, justice, and education	What is political philosophy? Is Kramer a socialist (in the social sense? In the economic sense?)? Is Jerry conservative or liberal? What are the purposes of education in/for a liberal democracy? How does political philosophy inform educational policy and practice?		Newall Noddings, pp. 72-81 and Ch. 9 Portelli Freire Bellous	The kiss hello, #97
April 28	Reform, interpellation, and the death of the subject	What is ideology and how does it drive school reform, impact the purposes of education, and affect pedagogy?		Kavanagh Brosio Noddings, Ch. 10 Irwin, Ch. 10	The van Buren boys, #140
Paper #3 due Thursday, May 5: Case Study #7, 27, 31, 35, 42, or 45