The main course meetings will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1pm, online. I'll plan to lecture some but hope that we can have a good deal of discussion during class, too. (Lectures will be recorded for anyone who cannot make the usual time.) Notes will be posted on Canvas to guide students through the reading, together with some questions worth considering as you read. Especially if you are new to philosophy, you may want to read these before you read the material itself, so you have some sense what we'll be focusing on.
For each meeting, each student should post a short reflection on the reading on Canvas. This need not be extensive. Three or four sentences are sufficient. You don't have to answer the questions that are raised in the reading notes (any of them, let alone all of them). What I'd most like to know is which parts of the reading students felt they understood; which parts they struggled to understand; and which parts they found most interesting and would like to discuss further in class. (It is perfectly fine, then, just to ask questions in your response.) All of that will help me craft our discussion in class.
Given the current enrolment in the class, it will be impossible for us to respond to every comment. But we'll try to respond to some each time, and hopefully that will even out through the semester.
For more extensive discussion of the readings, please use the Ed Discussion platform (a replacement for Piazza), which is accssible through Canvas. That will be an especially good place to ask pressing questions about things you didn't understand. We'll respond to questions raised there more quickly than to questions raised on Canvas, and other students can offer answers, too.
There will also be weekly discussion sections. We'll figure out times for these early in the second week. All students will need to arrive for each class appropriately prepared: not just having read the material for that class but with questions, comments, and criticisms to contribute.
Most people find it dificult to grasp that whatever they like to do sexually will be thoroughly repulsive to someone else, and that whatever repels them sexually will be the most treasured delight of someone, somewhere. One need not like or perform a particular sex act in order to recognize that someone else will, and that this difference does not indicate a lack of good taste, mental health, or intelligence in either party. (Gayle Rubin, "Thinking Sex")
Much of the material we will be discussing is `academic' and relatively `dry'.1 But some of it may be emotionally challenging, and any discussion about sexuality has the potential to feel threatening. It will therefore be essential that there be an atmosphere of trust and safety in the classroom. I will attempt to foster an environment in which each member of the course is able to speak freely, and to be heard respectfully, and I will demand that all members of the course show proper respect for one another's views, attitudes, opinions, and feelings. Some of the material we discuss may evoke strong reactions. Please be patient and kind with one another, and do not jump to conclusions. Do not make sweeping generalizations (anyone who finds that erotic must be sick) but use "I" language (that makes me feel uncomfortable). Expect the best, not the worst, of others. Still, as good as our intentions may be, there may be occasions when someone says or does something that causes discomfort or offense, and such episodes can adversely affect other people's educational experience. I will make it my responsibility to address such issues forthrightly.
Any student who fails to meet these standards will be given one opportunity to correct their behavior. Failure to do so will result in exclusion from the course. Please remember, too, that Brown's Title IX policy applies to all of us.
Should any issues of this sort arise, students will have four options open to them:
Grades for the course will be determined as follows.
Grades will be recorded on the course's Canvas site. Pay no attention to Canvas's report of your cumulative grade. It is useless.
Warning: I do not accept late work, under any circumstances. On the other hand, I am extremely flexible about due dates. That is to say: If someone should need an extra day or two, they need only ask; no reason even need be given. If someone should need more time than that, then some reason does need to be given, but the request will usually be granted. Since I am so flexible, there can be no excuse for one's not asking for an extension. It's really just a matter of respect.
Jim Pryor, a friend and former colleague who is now at NYU, has written two pieces that address the questions how to read philosophy papers and how to write philosophy papers. You may find them here:
If you are new (or newish) to philosophy, then they are very highly recommended. And, even if you are an old hand, you are sure to find something of value in what Jim has to say.Here is another set of pages, written by Joe Cruz, who is at William College, about how to write a philosophy paper. It presents an example of a short philosophy paper and shows how it develops, from initial sketches through a series of drafts.
You should thus expect your total time commitment for this class to be about 181 hours.
Brown University is committed to full inclusion of all students. Please inform the instructor early in the term if you have a disability or other condition that might require accommodations or modification of any of the course procedures. For more information, please contact the Office of Student and Employee Accessibility Services. Students in need of short-term academic advice or support can contact one of the deans in the Dean of the College's office.