Now Available: "Art and Cultural Heritage," a curriculum diversification guide published by the American Society for Aesthetics. Check out the Diversity Reading List for more great resources!

I revise the readings and topics for my courses fairly often, but some sample reading lists are linked below.

Wellesley:

• PHIL 106: Introduction to Moral Philosophy: Fall 2013, Fall 2018, Spring 2020 [Sample Syllabus]

  • A study of central issues in moral philosophy, with readings drawn from historical and contemporary texts. Topics include the nature of morality, conceptions of justice, views of human nature and their bearing on questions of value, and competing accounts of the bases of moral judgment.

• ES/PHIL 105: Philosophy of Food (Previously First Year Seminar: The Ethics of Eating: Spring 2018, Fall 2019) Fall 2021 [Sample Syllabus]

  • In this course we will examine the ethics of eating, from farm to table. Students will use philosophical methods to explore ethical issues surrounding topics such as world hunger, industrial agriculture, vegetarianism, cultural identity, paternalism, and individual responsibility. We will focus both on honing our argumentative skills and engaging critically with popular writing about food ethics.

• PHIL 203: Philosophy of Art: Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Spring 2019, Spring 2022, Spring 2024 [Sample Syllabus]

  • In this course, we will examine a broad set of philosophical questions about art. What is art? Why does it matter? Are there objective standards of taste, or is beauty in the eye of the beholder? What is the relationship between aesthetics and ethics? In addition to these general questions, we will consider specific philosophical puzzles posed by horror, forgery, authenticity, restoration, cultural appropriation, public sculpture, and street art.   

• PHIL/ES 233: Environmental Ethics: Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Spring 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2021, Fall 2023 [Sample Syllabus] 

  • This course will train students to use philosophical concepts and methods that will enhance their abilities to engage in rigorous debate about ethical issues concerning the environment. Topics may include animal rights, the ethics of eating, climate justice, ecological refugees, obligations to future generations, and environmental activism.  

• PHIL 234/ ES 234: From Wilderness to Ruins : Fall 2016, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2022 [Sample Syllabus]

  • This course concerns a range of ethical and aesthetic questions about places, whether of natural or cultural significance. How should we understand the value of nature? Is it relative to human interests, or independent of them? What is nature in the first place, and how is it distinguished from culture? Is scientific or cultural knowledge relevant to the aesthetic experience of nature? Does “natural beauty” have a role to play in guiding environmental preservation? When we seek to preserve an ecosystem or a building, what exactly should we be aiming to preserve? Should the history of a place guide our interactions with it? How should we navigate conflicts between environmental and cultural preservation, especially as they intersect with issues of race and class? How should a changing climate affect our environmental values? We will investigate these questions, among others, in contexts from wilderness to parks, cities to ruins.

• PHIL 256: Ethical Theories : Spring 2014, Spring 2015 (no longer teaching this...)

  • We all have feelings and opinions about what kinds of behavior are morally right or morally wrong. But how do we develop those intuitions into a coherent and plausible theory that can withstand criticism and be applied consistently across a range of cases? This course will be an examination of historical and contemporary approaches to systematic ethical theorizing. In the course of our inquiry, we will consider such questions as: Are the effects of your actions all that matter morally? Or does what you intend to do matter too? Is there a significant difference between what you intend to do and the consequences you can reasonably foresee? Is there a moral difference between causing harm and allowing someone to be harmed?

• PHIL 303: Authenticity: Fall 2018 [Sample Syllabus]

  • Fakes, forgeries, copies, knockoffs, imposters, posers, carpetbaggers, phonies: we have so many words for people and things that we judge to be inauthentic. But what exactly is authenticity? What, if anything, is valuable about it? In this course, we will explore the concept of authenticity as it surfaces in art, nature, food, culture, love, politics, history, and experience in an attempt to determine what is at stake in being the real deal.

• PHIL 304: Terrible Beauties: Spring 2021, Spring 2024

  • In this seminar, we will closely examine the relationship between immorality and aesthetics. Are morally objectionable artworks made aesthetically worse by their moral defects? Is it morally permissible to enjoy the work of artists who have done terrible things? Is there something perverse about taking pleasure in the grace of a hunting lioness given the suffering involved in the kill? We will investigate these questions and others as they arise in contexts including art, nature, food, and everyday experience.

• PHIL/ES 308: Environmental Aesthetics, Fall 2023 [Sample Syllabus]

  • The world around us is rich with aesthetic qualities. It is beautiful, awesome, enchanting, and sublime. Places have moods, vibes, atmospheres, and ambiances. How can we think rigorously and systematically about the aesthetics of the natural and built environment? What role, if any, should aesthetics play in environmentalism, environmental policy, and our relationship with the world we live in? This course will focus on contemporary philosophical work that seeks to answer these questions. Themes may include the place of science, imagination, history, and culture in aesthetic judgment, the role of aesthetics in conservation, and the relationship between aesthetics and climate change.

• PHIL 330: Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: Ethics for Everyone: Fall 2015, Spring 2020

  • Socrates practiced philosophy in the public marketplace, but contemporary philosophers have retreated to the ivory tower. Though we wrestle with questions of fundamental human concern, philosophical writing is often inaccessible to a public audience. This tension is perhaps most troubling when it comes to the study of ethics. What good is inquiry into how we should live if we do not or cannot share our thoughts with others? In this course, we will focus on improving our skills at engaging in ethical inquiry in dialogue with the general public. Students will produce a portfolio of public writing surrounding a pressing ethical issue of their choice. Topics might include vegetarianism, humanitarian intervention, civil disobedience, hate speech, cultural appropriation, torture, etc.

• PHIL 338: Who Owns the Past?: Spring 2015 (as PHIL 340), Spring 2018, Fall 2020 [Sample Syllabus]

  • In this course, we will examine a range of moral and political questions surrounding cultural heritage. We will employ an interdisciplinary array of sources in order to investigate key concepts including cultural and natural heritage, value, identity, colonialism, cultural property and landscapes, stewardship, and preservation. We will use these conceptual foundations to address practical questions, such as whether cultural artifacts in Western museums should be repatriated to their countries of origin; how we should resolve value conflicts between archaeologists and Indigenous communities; and whether institutions (such as governments or colleges) should continue to honor historical figures who perpetrated historical injustices. The course will involve a substantial independent research project on a topic of each student’s own choosing.   

Berkeley:

as Primary Instructor: 

• PHIL 2: Individual Morality and Social Justice: Summer 2011

  • An introduction to moral and political philosophy, considering foundations, theories, and applications. 

as Graduate Student Instructor (TA): 

• PHIL 25a: Ancient Philosophy: Klaus Corcillius, Fall 2011 

  • An introduction to the origins of western philosophy, focusing on the Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. A prerequisite for the philosophy major. 

• PHIL 2: Individual Morality and Social Justice: Niko Kolodny, Spring 2011 

  • An introduction to historical and contemporary works in moral and political philosophy. 

• PHIL 108: Contemporary Ethical Issues: Niko Kolodny, Summer 2010 

  • An upper-division class focused on considering and evaluating the role of moral theory in addressing contemporary problems in applied ethics. 

• PHIL 100: Philosophical Methods: Alva Noe, Spring 2010 

  • A tutorial-based class for undergraduate majors on the practice of philosophical writing. This semester, the topic of the class was personal identity. 

• PHIL104: Ethical Theories: R. Jay Wallace, Fall 2009 

  • An upper-division class examining both historical foundations and contemporary approaches in moral philosophy. 

• UGBA 107: The Social, Ethical, and Political Environment of Business: Alan Ross, Summer 2009 

  • A required class for undergraduate majors at the Hass School of Business, focusing on introductory concepts in moral and political theory and their application to case studies in business. 

• PHIL 25b: Modern Philosophy: Hannah Ginsborg, Spring 2009 

  • An introduction to the philosophical writings of Descartes, Spinoza, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. A prerequisite for the philosophy major. 

• PHIL 2: Individual Morality and Social Justice: Hans Sluga, Fall 2008 

  • An introduction to historical and contemporary works in moral and political philosophy.