Teaching Descartes’s Meditations (and related texts)

The American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT) seeks panelists for a session on teaching Descartes’s Meditations, and related texts, at the AAPT/APA Teaching Hub at the 2018 Pacific Division Meeting of the APA, March 28–April 1, in San Diego. We envision approximately three different presentations on interesting or innovative approaches to teaching Descartes’s work in undergraduate classes. We hope to focus discussion mainly on pedagogy, but would be interested in various approaches to content, if they are tied to conversations about teaching. We also encourage critical approaches to teaching Descartes’s work that may challenge us to think about why and how we teach canonical texts.

Consistent with the ethos of the AAPT, we expect presentations to be short, maybe fifteen minutes, engendering the sharing of ideas about different ways to teach the text among participants. We will appreciate proposals which include concrete ideas about how to make the session interactive.

Proposals of no more than 500 words, prepared for anonymous review, should be sent to Russell Marcus, [email protected], by August 15, 2017. Please include a brief explanation of both your approach to teaching the core text and your experiences  doing so. Supporting material, such as syllabi, handouts, or a CV, is also welcome; we are interested in ensuring representation of a range of voices. We expect to select presenters by September 15, 2017.

The AAPT/APA Teaching Hub is a set of sessions about teaching philosophy held at various divisional meetings of the APA, emphasizing inclusive and collegial interactions. The Teaching Hub coordinates conversations about the teaching of philosophy at all levels, pre-college through graduate school. For more information about the Teaching Hub at the 2018 Pacific Division Meeting, contact Mark Jensen, [email protected].