Of late there has been talk of philosophy?s being at an end or at least in need of transformation. In order to provide a measure of renewal, people are considering whether approaches taken and insights expressed in literature might enrich the study of philosophy. We will explore this issue through an examination of philosophical and literary treatments of friendship from different periods in the Western tradition, and of literary and philosophical reflections on human flourishing in the twentieth century.

Individual liberty is a core value in liberal democratic societies. What is liberty? Why is it thought to be important, and how might it be justified? When can it be legitimately constrained?

We will examine diverse issues regarding work: What significance does work have in our lives? How does it vary across communities, classes, and professions? How is it related to individual and group identity? How is it related to family life and individual well being? What makes it desirable or undesirable, and meaningful or meaningless? What rights, interests, and obligations does it involve? Is there a right or an obligation to work? How should various opportunities, benefits, and burdens associated with work be distributed? How should work be organized and controlled?

Topics course This course in contemporary epistemology examines the sources and structure of knowledge, belief, justification, and rationality.

Design is one of the most pervasive human activities. Its effects?intended or unintended?permeate our lives. Questions abound about the role of design and the significance of being able to exercise it and of being subject to it. For example: Are there particular pleasures, as well as special responsibilities, characteristic of designing? What is the nature of deprivation imposed upon people when they lack the opportunity or the knowledge to share in the design of their living or working conditions? How much control do designers actually have over the meaning and use of what they design?

What is thinking? What is the distinction between mind and body, and ought we to accept it? Can the mind survive the death of the body? Can you be thoughtful and passionate at the same time? What kind of access can we have to the worlds of human beings from other cultures and historical periods? Readings from ancient, modern, and contemporary philosophers primarily in the Western tradition. Designed to introduce beginning students to problems and methods in philosophy and to the philosophy department at Smith. Maximum number of students per section 20.

What is thinking? What is the distinction between mind and body, and ought we to accept it? Can the mind survive the death of the body? Can you be thoughtful and passionate at the same time? What kind of access can we have to the worlds of human beings from other cultures and historical periods? Readings from ancient, modern, and contemporary philosophers primarily in the Western tradition. Designed to introduce beginning students to problems and methods in philosophy and to the philosophy department at Smith. Maximum number of students per section 20.

What is thinking? What is the distinction between mind and body, and ought we to accept it? Can the mind survive the death of the body? Can you be thoughtful and passionate at the same time? What kind of access can we have to the worlds of human beings from other cultures and historical periods? Readings from ancient, modern, and contemporary philosophers primarily in the Western tradition. Designed to introduce beginning students to problems and methods in philosophy and to the philosophy department at Smith. Maximum number of students per section 20.

How does music in film produce ideology? We will closely study a number of films, focusing at first on half a dozen top-grossing Hollywood vehicles from the last fifty years, theorizing the role of the score in the production, and exploring how it constructs identities for the characters and positions viewers. Prerequisites: FLS 150 or MUS 110. Enrollment limit of 12 students.

An introduction to a broad range of vocal music, from the Middle Ages to the present, and an investigation of such issues as text setting, interpretation, extended vocal techniques and the use of technology as it relates to vocal performance. Topics of study will include chant, nineteenth-century art song, and opera. Composers to be considered will include Mozart and Wagner as well as such recent and contemporary figures as John Cage and Steve Reich, and popular and crossover artists including Duke Ellington, the Rolling Stones, and Bjork.