CFP: Creative Assignments for Practicing Philosophical Skills

Creative Assignments for Practicing Philosophical Skills

The APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy (CTP) and the American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT) seek presenters for a session on the topic of creative assignments for practicing philosophical skills at the AAPT-APA Teaching Hub at the 2020 APA Eastern Division meeting, January 8–11, 2020, in Philadelphia, PA. We aim to have the session especially highlight ideas that prepare students to usefully deploy these skills in contexts outside of the philosophy classroom (in their other classes, in making life-decisions, in their future careers, etc.).

Possible topics include assignments that involve the following:

• Immersive experiences (e.g., having students spend a week living like a Stoic);
• Unique methods for working with real-world case studies;
• Op-eds or writing assignments for broader audiences;
• Service-learning components;
• Making connections between theoretical philosophy and applied contexts (e.g., the impact of the metaphysics of causation on law);
• Having students identify patterns of logical reasoning online or elsewhere in their lives;
• Role-playing games to prepare students to deploy philosophical skills in an embedded context;
• Personal journaling assignments;
• Analysis of pop-culture or other media through a philosophical lens;
• Opportunities for students to build bridges with other disciplinary interests;
• Among other topics

To submit a proposal for consideration, please email August Gorman ([email protected]) by Monday, July 15, 2019, with the subject line “Creative Assignments for Practicing Philosophical Skills 2020.” In the body of the email, please include your name, institutional affiliation (if any), position (if any), and contact information. Attached to the email, please include an anonymized abstract of 500–750 words (in PDF form) that answers the following questions: 1) What is the assignment, and how does it work? 2) What sorts of skills does it help students practice? 3) How do you plan to present this idea at the Teaching Hub session (Will you share samples of student work? Will you involve attendees in an interactive demo? Will you discuss the advantage of your approach over competing approaches?)?

The organizing committee will select 3–4 participants for the session by the end of July and will aim to assemble a session that is diverse in many respects, including career stage and institutional affiliation.

For questions about this session, please contact August at [email protected]. For questions about the Teaching Hub at the Eastern APA, contact Wendy Turgeon at [email protected].

The Teaching Hub is a collaborative meeting space, co-sponsored by the APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy (CTP) and the American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT), that hosts a series of informative programs about the teaching of philosophy at divisional meetings of the APA. This is an opportunity to share your approach, advice, and assignments with your colleagues, and learn from them as well.

https://www.apaonline.org/page/TeachingHub2020CFP