PHIL 3033 - Key Texts in Philosophy

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2021

This capstone course for the Philosophy major will focus on a close reading and analysis of influential texts in philosophy. It will act as a suitable culmination to a major in Philosophy, and a bridge into Honours/MPhil, with an emphasis on in-depth treatment of more narrowly focused topics and, in some cases, their historical genesis. The content is not fixed in advance, but will be determined from year to year by a combination of available expertise and the latest research in the field.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code PHIL 3033
    Course Key Texts in Philosophy
    Coordinating Unit Philosophy
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 6
    Contact Up to 6 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N
    Prerequisites At least 15 units of Philosophy Major courses
    Restrictions Available to students undertaking a Philosophy Major only
    Course Description This capstone course for the Philosophy major will focus on a close reading and analysis of influential texts in philosophy. It will act as a suitable culmination to a major in Philosophy, and a bridge into Honours/MPhil, with an emphasis on in-depth treatment of more narrowly focused topics and, in some cases, their historical genesis. The content is not fixed in advance, but will be determined from year to year by a combination of available expertise and the latest research in the field.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Jordi Fernandez

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes

    On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

    1. Demonstrate a detailed and high-level understanding of the essential arguments and theoretical ideas of particular key text(s) in philosophy.
    2. Identify, analyse, and evaluate the central concepts of key philosophical text(s), to construct arguments engaging with those text(s), and to know how to situation those texts in their broader historical and theoretical contexts.
    3. Communicate effectively in a range of formats (but particularly through the production of extended written texts) and to demonstrate a thorough grasp of the scholarly conventions of the discipline of philosophy.
    4. Develop a critical, self-reflective approach to the study of philosophy, which acknowledges methodological issues in philosophical inquiry and is sensitive to the consequences and prevalence of philosophical disagreement.
    5. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of a range of contemporary technologies to conduct research, communicate results and communicate with others.
    ​
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1,2,4
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    2,3,4
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    3,5
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    3,4,5
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    4
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    • Kripke, Saul. (1980) Naming and Necessity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
    Recommended Resources
    Other resources will be announced by the lecturer at the beginning of the course.

    Online Learning
    • All lectures will be pre-recorded and released through MyUni.
    • One of the available tutorial groups, or workshops, will be online through Zoom.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course is taught in lectures+tutorial format:

    - Lectures are pre-recorded and will be made available through MyUni.
    - You will have the option of attending either a face-to-face tutorial, or an on-line tutorial through Zoom.

    Tutorials run in weeks 2-11. At the end of each week, questions for discussion will be posted in MyUni to be discussed in the following week’s tutorial. You should come to the tutorials with your answers to these questions ready, having thought about the relevant topics. This exercise will give you an opportunity to assess your progress in the course regularly.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    This is a 6 unit course with a commensurate workload.

    WORKLOADTOTAL HOURS
    STRUCTURED LEARNING
    3 hour seminar per week 36 hours per semester
    Sub-total 36 hours
    SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING
    6 hours class reading per week 72 hours per semester
    6 hours research reading per week 36 hours per semester
    8 hours assignment prep per week 96 hours per semester
    Sub-total 240 hours
    TOTAL 276 hours
    ​
    Learning Activities Summary
    This course aims to cover some of positions defended by Saul Kripke in the philosophy of language, metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. We will be focusing on Kripke's book *Naming and Necessity*.

    Specific Course Requirements
    At least 15 units of Philosophy Major courses
    Small Group Discovery Experience
    In the tutorials, we will have ‘small group discovery’ activities: The lecturer will provide a text. The class will be broken into groups and each group will be asked to form some views about a number of questions regarding the text. Then, all groups will share their views about those questions.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    ASSESSMENT TASKTASK TYPEWEIGHTINGCOURSE LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
    Extended Essay 1 (2,000 words) Summative 50% 1,2,3,4,5
    Extended Essay 2 (2,500 words) Summative 50% 1,2,3,4,5
    Questions for discussion in tutorials Formative 1,2,4
    ​
    Assessment Related Requirements

    Submission of two essays is a course requirement. The first one should be about 2,000 words long. The second one should be about 2,500 words long. You are strongly urged to attend the course tutorials, though attendance is not compulsory.
    Assessment Detail
    AssessmentDescription% weighting
    Extended Essay 1 This is a 2,000 words essay. Students will choose from a number of set topics based on material from weeks 1-6 of the course. Topics will be released in MyUni three weeks before the due date. 50%
    Extended Essay 2 This is a 2,500 words essay. Students will choose from a number of set topics based on material from weeks 7-12 of the course. Topics will be released in MyUni three weeks before the due date. 50%
    Weekly discussions of questions for tutorials Students will discuss a passage from the set reading for that week in tutorials.
    Submission
    a) Submitting your essays

    All essays must be submitted electronically through MyUni. Please do not submit a hard copy of your essay. In this course, we will only accept electronic submission of essays through MyUni. Please remember that it is your responsibility to submit your essays correctly.

    • The first page of your essay must include your name and student ID number.
    • At the end of the submission process, please print (or take a picture of) the screen telling you that your file has been submitted. In the event of system failure, we will accept that as proof that you did submit your essay.
    • You are required to keep both a hard copy and an electronic copy of each of your essays.
    • Comments to Essay 1 will be returned electronically, approximately two weeks after the due date. If you require comments to your second essay back, please let the lecturer know by noon of the due date for Essay 2.

    b) Overdue work

    If your essay is submitted after 12pm of the due date without an extension, then your work will be considered late/overdue. Please note the following regarding late/overdue work:

    (i) Late essays will be penalized at the rate of 2 marks of the percentage mark achieved for that
    assessment component for each day that the work is overdue.
    (ii) Essays submitted more than 7 days late without an extension will not be marked.

    For the purposes of both (i) and (ii), the number of days that the assessment task is overdue will be counted by using noon as the cut-off point (since all pieces of assessment are due at noon).

    c) Extensions

    Faculty of Arts policy states that students are eligible for extensions only on the basis of medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances.

    E-mail communication with your course coordinator, lecturer, tutor or marker does not constitute a request for an extension. In order to be granted an extension, you must submit an "Application for Assessment Extension" (available at the Faculty of Arts website) together with all relevant documentation, to the School of Humanities Office, before the due date.

    No other grounds for extension will be permitted. Extension requests made on other grounds, or made on/after the due date, will be declined. In particular, note that pressure of other work or sporting commitments are not accepted as grounds for extension.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    https://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/700?dsn=policy.document;field=data;id=5082;m=view

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

    https://access.adelaide.edu.au/sa/login.asp
  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

    https://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/?dsn=policy.document;field=data;id=161;m=view
  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.