Public philosophy is philosophy oriented towards the general public. In our class, titled “Public Philosophy” and taught at UC Berkeley in the Spring of 2020, philosophy majors used public philosophy to reflect on what philosophy is for them, reimagine what it could be, and explore the intersection between philosophy and accessibility. The class was structured around guest speakers who zoomed into class and student-driven discussions.
The class was designed to address three questions: (I) Where do we find philosophy outside of academia? (II) What are some effective ways to introduce philosophy into public spheres? (III) How can I translate my philosophical work into another medium? We met twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays. Typically, Mondays were spent discussing a guest speaker’s work before having our conversation with the speaker the following Wednesday. Our pedagogical approach emphasized student interest and collaboration.
On our Monday meetings, instead of having formal lectures, we facilitated discussions. The discussions were primarily based on student responses to the guest speaker’s work, which were submitted as weekly assignments. As a result, the narratives of our discussions were driven by the issues students found most engaging. Although we would start off by addressing a speaker’s work concretely, our discussions developed into broader conversations: What is philosophy? Who can practice philosophy? How can philosophy impact people? Who is the audience for academic philosophy? Should philosophy have an explicit public utility or is it in itself valuable? Who is a teacher and who is a student of philosophy? What is the value of my philosophical work and can it be more accessible?
The same questions were also discussed with our speakers during the Wednesday meetings. Our guest speakers were people who work in the field of public philosophy: Agnes Callard, a philosophy professor at the University of Chicago who has written on the topic of public philosophy; Jeniffer Lackey, a philosophy professor at Northwestern University and Director of the Northwestern Prison Education Program (the meeting was canceled due to COVID-19); Barry Lam, a philosophy professor at Vassar College and creator of the podcast Hi-Phi Nation; Geoff Pynn, a philosophy professor at Elgin Community College and Associate Director of Wi-Phi, an organization that introduces philosophy to the public through accessible videos; Regina Rini, a philosophy professor at York University, author of multiple op-eds, and winner of the 2018 Sanders Award for public philosophy; Kyle Robertson, a philosophy professor at UC Santa Cruz and Ethics Bowl coach for UCSC and San Quentin Prison; and Jamie Ryerson, Senior Editor at the New York Times who regularly publishes op-eds written by philosophers.
In their course evaluations, students indicated that the centerpiece of the class was the student-driven approach. It created a rich, intimate, and dynamic atmosphere that empowered students to philosophize both in and outside of the classroom while using their diverse interests, passions, and backgrounds. The students also expressed that, as a result, the class helped them cultivate an individual philosophical identity within a field where undergraduates often feel a lack of belonging. By exploring public philosophy, students could engage with topics and mediums they cared about and, in turn, left our class determined to individually contribute to the world as philosophers. The final assignment of the class, creating their own piece of public philosophy, gave the students an opportunity to do that.
The Syllabus Showcase of the APA Blog is designed to share insights into the syllabi of philosophy educators. We include syllabi that showcase a wide variety of philosophy classes. We would love for you to be a part of this project. Please email sabrinamisirhiralall@apaonline.org to nominate yourself or a colleague.
Claire Michael
Claire Michael is a philosophy major at UC Berkeley. She co-created this upper-division class on public philosophy (with Ravit Dotan) and taught it in the Spring of 2020 as part of a special program that allows undergraduates to teach classes. Claire is slated to teach this class again in the Spring of 2021.
Ravit Dotan
Ravit Dotan is a graduate student at UC Berkeley, working in epistemology, philosophy of science, and philosophy of machine learning. She co-created this upper-division class on public philosophy (with Claire Michael), and supervised the class during the Spring of 2020.
