About the Book
In these essays, 24 of our most celebrated professors of philosophy address the problem of how to teach philosophy today: how to make philosophy interesting and relevant; how to bring classic texts to life; how to serve all students; and how to align philosophy with more "practical" pursuits. Selected and introduced by three leaders in the world of philosophical education, the insights contained in this inspiring collection illuminate the challenges and possibilities of teaching the academy's oldest discipline.
Table of Contents:
Contents:
Preface, by Steven M. Cahn
Introduction, by Alexandra Bradner and Andrew Mills
I. Teaching Philosophy: A Prologue
1. “What is Philosophy? What is Education?,” by Seung-Kee Lee
2. “Free to Think,” by Andrea Tschemplik
II. Teaching the Students
3. “Competing Visions,” by Maureen Eckert
4. “Learning to Teach,” by David Concepción
5. “Meeting Students Where They Are,” Paul Hurley
6. “Introducing Philosophy in a Large Classroom,” by Marie-Eve Morin
7. “Teaching Value Theory to the Disenfranchised,” by James Rocha
8. “Imagine Yourself in the Bird: Teaching Philosophy at the United States Military Academy,” by Courtney Morris
III. Teaching the Course
9. “Critical Thinking and Empowerment,” by Mark Piper
10. “Getting It Right: Forty Years of Intro to Philosophy,” by Stephen Daniel
11. “On Teaching ‘Happiness and the Meaning of Life,” by Christine Vitrano
12. “Learning not to Teach,” by Paul Woodruff
13. “Moments of Grace,” by Anthony Weston
IV. Teaching Beyond the Course
14. “Of Games and Confrontations,” by David C.K. Curry
15. “Is the Unexamined Life Worth Living?,” by David Palmer
16. “Teaching for Our Good,” by Bob Fischer
17. “A Slow Apprenticeship with the Real,” by John Whitmire
18. “Teaching Ethics, Happiness, & The Good Life: An Upbuilding Discourse in the Spirits of Søren Kierkegaard and John Dewey,” by Alex Stehn
V. Teaching the Teacher
19. “Teaching Philosophy to First Generation Students,” by Bertha Manninen
20. “Critical Thinking Can Save Your Life,” by Betsy Jelinek
21. “This is Teaching,” by Jane Drexler
22. “Teaching as a Humanism,” by Russell Marcus
23. “When Our Students Die,” by Nick Smith
24. “A Teaching Life,” by Martin Benjamin
About the Author :
Steven M. Cahn, Graduate Center of the City University of New York; former Chair, American Philosophical Association Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy; former President, The John Dewey Foundation
Alexandra Bradner, Kenyon College; Chair, American Philosophical Association Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy; Executive Director, American Association of Philosophy Teachers
Andrew P. Mills, Otterbein University; President, American Association of Philosophy Teachers
Review :
"Every philosopher who is a teacher (and even those who are not) ought to own or at least read a copy of this book. The joys and sorrows, obstacles and over-comings, as expressed in the 24 stories are, I wager, experiences that all teachers have had and will continue to experience. To hear such stories expressed by others is a breath of fresh air." —Jason Costanzo, Missouri Western State University, in Philosophy in Review
"This fabulous collection features two dozen thought-provoking, instructive, and inspiring essays about the vocation and aims of teaching philosophy, written by a diverse group of award-winning professors. Philosophy instructors do well to reflect often on their pedagogy; this volume provides access to the reflections of successful colleagues. Anyone who teaches philosophy will benefit from reading this marvelous book." —Robert B. Talisse, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University
"These varied essays insightfully portray the struggles and occasional triumphs of teaching philosophy, from the large lecture hall to the seminar room, and offer a wealth of strategies, techniques, and practices that promise to enhance philosophy teaching at all levels. By turns inspiring, humbling, depressing, instructive, engaging, insightful, honest, deeply personal, and moving, every philosophy teacher will find something of value here." —Harvey Siegel, University of Miami
"You will meet in these essays smart, experienced, reflective, and funny teachers. You will encounter a variety of creative perspectives on what people do in the classroom, covering everything from the 60,000 feet view about what the goals of a teacher are, to the micro quotidian ideas about assignments. There are accounts of great successes (and many an assignment you will want to try out for yourself), and a few rueful tales of (spectacular!) failures and how they shaped the next day, or week, or course.
"One wonderful and distinctive thing about the volume is the deep mark of the personal on most of these pieces. These teachers struggle and stumble! They are sometimes filled with anxiety! But the love of what they do, and the constant careful attention to what works and what does not work propels them, and us, forward."
—Katheryn Doran, Hamilton College
"As a teacher for over two decades, I found Philosophers in the Classroom utterly absorbing, enlivening the teaching of philosophy by the insightful, inspiring, and entirely feasible practices employed by these master teachers." —Sally Scholz, Villanova University
