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School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Philosophy
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Mission |
Outcomes |
Assessment |
Faculty |
Student Work |
Program Learning Goals and Objectives
| GOAL I: |
Students will acquire the abilities to
critically read, evaluate and respond to intellectual
material from any discipline.
|
| Objective A: |
Students will learn to recognize and
critically assess premises and conclusions.
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| Objective B: |
Students will learn to identify main
theses and critically evaluate supporting evidence.
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| Objective C: |
Students will learn to detect
presuppositions and value judgments.
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| Objective D: |
Students will learn to identify
hypotheses, generalizations, and statistical data and to
critically evaluate supporting evidence.
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| Objective E: |
Students will learn to identify emotive
appeals and to give fair treatment to views and values
present in intellectual materials from any discipline. |
| GOAL II: |
Students will acquire the skills to
write effectively about philosophy and other subjects.
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| Objective A: |
Students will learn to organize and to
develop material in a well-reasoned manner.
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| Objective B: |
Students will learn to communicate
ideas clearly with adequate definition and illustration.
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| Objective C: |
Students will learn to recognize what
constitutes relevant material and support for ideas. |
| GOAL III: |
Students will learn to understand and
apply concepts and theories of moral philosophy.
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| Objective A: |
Students will learn to identify ethical
principles and values and to distinguish these from
legal and other kinds of principles and values.
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| Objective B: |
Students will learn to critically
evaluate ethical principles and values.
|
| Objective C: |
Students will learn to identify and
critically evaluate the ethical foundations of key
social institutions and professions. |
| GOAL IV: |
Students will develop a critical
understanding of major traditions and ideas in the field
of philosophy.
|
| Objective A: |
Students will explore, understand, and
critically assess the work of central thinkers in the
history of philosophy.
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| Objective B: |
Students will explore and understand
the historical development of major philosophical ideas.
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| Objective C: |
Students will develop a critical
understanding of various key concepts in philosophy such
as ‘truth,’ ‘meaning,’ ‘reality,’ ‘mind,’ ‘the good,’
‘beauty,’ and ‘political authority.’ |
ASSESSMENT PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT
Nearly every major at CSUB requires both a senior seminar and
some sort of assessment in addition to course grades. In our
department, senior seminar and assessment are combined.
Assessment includes a portfolio, which you will assemble. We
urge you to begin assembling materials for your portfolio as
soon as you declare a major. You should keep duplicate copies of
everything you put in your portfolio, because it will not be
returned to you. Portfolios will be graded pass or fail.
You should include in your portfolio at least five papers or
essays, four from coursework taken in the philosophy major and
one from another discipline area. The four pieces from
philosophy courses should cover the major areas of history of
philosophy, value theory, theory of knowledge and metaphysics.
The samples of written work should also span different time
periods in your academic career. These papers will be read and
evaluated by program faculty after you have completed your
academic work. Attention will be given to the ability to write
effectively and to use ethical principles and theories in
critically evaluating individual, professional and institutional
action. Where appropriate, the papers will also be assessed with
regard to your understanding of major ideas, the position of
these ideas in the discipline of philosophy and the ideas’
historical importance.
In addition, you are required to include in your portfolios at
least three examples of critical analysis of intellectual
material from three different subject area disciplines. These
analyses will be evaluated by program faculty in terms of the
abilities enumerated in Goal I and its objectives.
Finally, your portfolio will include a personal assessment of at
least 1000 words of the philosophy program and your own
educational progress. We want to know what you have learned as a
philosophy major. Has the program helped you improve your
philosophical skills? Can you think more critically? Can you
write better? Have you broadened your interests? Are you better
prepared to pursue a career? Are you a wiser, better person? We
want to know whether your education has changed you and in what
ways.
The portfolio will not be graded, but it must be turned in
before you can receive a grade for senior seminar. If you take
senior seminar before you complete other major requirements, you
may update your personal assessment, or add and/or replace
papers, at any time. The personal assessment should be submitted
in a sealed envelope, which will not be opened until after you
graduate. This procedure is intended to encourage you to be
completely honest in your evaluation of our program and
yourself.
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