Foundation Course in Phenomenology

Centre for Phenomenological Studies is organizing a month-long foundation course in phenomenology for students and research scholars in philosophy and allied disciplines from October 1 to 31, 2017 in Pondicherry, India. The course will provide a comprehensive training in phenomenological themes focusing on the works of Edmund Husserl. The course will impart necessary skills and knowledge in phenomenology to undertake research in the area of existentialism, critical theory, postmodernism, consciousness studies, philosophy of mind and other contemporary schools of thought including phenomenology of religion, theology and the like. 

The course is modeled after the traditional Indian Gurukula system of education, where the students engage in a rigorous study of a philosophical tradition for an extended period of time under the guidance of a competent teacher. Students will stay in an environment suitable for reflective and meditative engagement with foundational texts to deepen their understanding of the tradition.

In this ‘Gurukula’ mode of learning, we have designed each module with theoretical and practical components to make learning enjoyable and interactive. There are six modules for this course as follows:

1. Psychologism, Meaning [Text: Logical Investigations]
2. Transcendental Phenomenology, Consciousness & Intentionality, Phenomenological Reductions, Noesis-Noema correlation [Text: Ideas-I]
3. Constitution of the world [Text: Ideas-II]
4. Phenomenological perspective of intersubjectivity [Text: Cartesian Meditations]
5. Life-world  [Text: Crisis of European Sciences]
6. Time Consciousness  [Text: Phenomenology of Internal Time Consciousness]

The venue of the program will be Sri Aurobindo Center for Advanced Research (SACAR) (www.sacar.in), a research institute in Pondicherry, dedicated to the study of Sri Aurobindo's thought and philosophy.

The program is partially funded by Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi. The registration fee for the program is Rs.1000/-.  The registration fee for international participants will be US$250. The organizers will provide boarding and lodging facilities. The participants have to meet to and fro travel expenses and bring their stationery.

Classes will be held from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm on all days except Sundays. Yoga classes, group discussions and seminars will be part of daily activities. There will be lectures by other subject experts as well. An essential condition for admission to the course is that every participant must submit in advance a copy of the paper which he/she is going to present in the daily seminars. The paper, typed in one and a half space, must be of minimum 3 pages long and can be on any theme on your current doctoral research. If you are not a doctoral research scholar, you can present a paper on a philosophical theme or on a good book you read recently. No excuse for the non-submission of the paper will be entertained. Only on receipt of your paper, your admission to the programme will be confirmed. Your paper must reach us by 15th September 2017. If you are sure of sending the paper on time, you may please book your to and fro journey tickets. You need to be present in SACAR from 1st (evening) to the 31st (evening) October 2017. Admission to the program is restricted to 25 participants.   

The principal resource person for the course will be Dr V.C. Thomas (formerly Professor of Philosophy, Pondicherry University). However, he will be assisted by Dr James Kurian (Madras Christian College, Chennai) and Dr E. P. Mathew (Loyola College, Chennai). 

In case you need any further clarifications, please feel free to mail us.   

V. C. Thomas
Centre for Phenomenological Studies, Pondicherry

Email:[email protected]
Web: www.phenomenology.in