Philosophy: Marginalized Ident & Priv

Teaches students to harness the power of theoretical scholarship on social marginalization, oppression, and privilege in both understanding and challenging the intersecting systems of social hierarchy operative in contemporary American society. Credit not awarded for both PHIL 1548 and versions of the course offered as PHIL 1010 to 1029.

Open to Degree and PACE students

This course will teach students to harness the power of theoretical scholarship on social marginalization, oppression, and privilege in making sense of a society structured by intersecting systems of social hierarchy. Through their coursework, students will deepen their understanding of the ways in which intersecting systems of social power divergently shape contemporary American lived-experiences. With a focus on race and gender, students will investigate where, how, why theoretical insights constitute essential practical and political tools, equipping us to effectively challenge the intersecting systems of social power operative in our contemporary American social/cultural/political context. This course will also help students continue to develop a set of critical thinking and communication skills can be usefully applied in a variety of different domains both within and outside of academia. Through written work and through collaborative discussion, this course will help students develop their capacities to, e.g., communicate clearly and concisely, accurately reconstruct an argument, analysis, or position from a piece of text, apply theoretical tools in analyzing current events, cultural phenomena, etc., critically evaluate a position, argument, or theoretical framework, construct persuasive defense of a position, and anticipate and address potential objections.