Philosophy
General InformationIn an increasingly global environment where information courses instantaneously around the world, the disciplines devoted to the human word, to human communication, to the world's languages and literatures, its philosophies and religions and cultures remain vital. It is the mission of the Department of English and Humanities to prepare its students to participate in this global, information society by providing them with the critical, questioning, imaginative, and interpretive abilities they will need to succeed in college, in their careers, and in life. Majors in the Department of English and Humanities accept the invitation to intellectual adventure and self-exploration, and in so doing develop the skills and acquire the knowledge essential for understanding tomorrow's challenges.
The Philosophy Major
Students pursuing a major in philosophy critically study the abiding questions facing humankind: What is the nature of God? Why be moral? Is there an afterlife? What is beauty? What is truth? What is justice? What does it mean to know? Philosophy majors at York College develop a comprehensive knowledge of the history of philosophy and the representative philosophical problems and issues of the discipline. They study some of the world's greatest literature, including masterpieces by such diverse thinkers as Plato, Augustine, Descartes, Marx, Nietzsche, Derrida, and Foucault. Along the way, they come to understand the extent to which philosophers have influenced and shaped the development of science, art, literature, politics, education, and theology. The study of philosophy develops analytical, critical, and interpretive abilities, cultivating a student's capacities for reflection and self-expression. The study of philosophy further enhances the student's capacity to apply philosophical methods to intellectual problems across academic fields of study.
Why Study Philosophy?
Students are usually drawn to the study of philosophy because of their intrinsic interest in the discipline and the kinds of questions it raises. There are also many tangible benefits for studying philosophy.
- "For all the jokes about them, philosophy majors appear to do remarkably well" - so says C. M. Cropper, in a New York Times article that explains that philosophy majors are increasingly successful in a world in which business and government depend more and more on abstract reasoning abilities.
- The New York Times Career Planner reports that "Philosophy is one fundamental area of study that has found a new role in the high-tech world." In an information-based economy, people who can think conceptually are more and more valuable.
- Philosophy majors consistently achieve among the highest scores of all majors on the LSAT, GRE, MCAT, and GMAT.
- The Times of London reported in 1998, "The great virtue of philosophy is that it teaches not what to think, but how to think."
The English and Humanities Department publishes an annual student literary journal, The York Review, which includes poetry, fiction, essays, photography, and art. The department sponsors an annual creative writing contest, funded by the Bob Hoffman Foundation, providing awards for poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. The department's theatre troupe, Players, mounts numerous productions annually, many of them directed by students. The department also supports an active Film Society, a student-run organization dedicated to the serious examination and discussion of movies-particularly classic films, independent films, documentaries, and foreign films. The department organizes the annual "Humanities Lecture and Film Series," which brings noted scholars, writers, and performers to campus to meet with students, conduct special lectures and discussions in the classroom, and speak to the campus community. The department also regularly sponsors student socials, poetry readings, panel discussions, and workshops on careers for liberal arts majors and for students interested in graduate school. Majors in the department regularly present at area student conferences.
Career Opportunities
In today's information-economy, nothing is more important than being able to deal in abstract concepts. Thinking is the most valuable skill in a post-industrial economy and in today's downsized work environment employees are expected to perform multiple tasks and exhibit the kind of creativity and flexibility philosophy majors acquire through their studies. Philosophy majors find meaningful employment with a variety of organizations including the following:
- Colleges/Universities/Adult Education Programs
- Consulting Firms
- Insurance Companies
- Law Offices
- Municipal/Local Government
- Museums/Libraries
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Publishing Houses/Magazines/Newspapers
- Religious Associations
- Research Firms
- Social Service Organizations
- State/Federal Government
- Student Affairs Offices
Introductory Courses
- Introduction to Philosophy
- Critical Thinking
- Contemporary Moral Problems
- Philosophy and Human Nature
- Environmental Ethics
- Ancient to Early Modern Philosophy
- The Enlightenment to Postmodern Philosophy
- Race, Gender and Sexuality
- Epistemology
- Metaphysics
- Ethics
- Ethics in the Workplace
- Bioethics
- Ethical Issues in Peace and Conflict
- Feminist Philosophy
- Philosophy of Law
- Philosophy of Religion
- Philosophy of Technology
- Aesthetics
- Philosophy of Film
- Philosophy Seminar
- The Digital Culture
- Images of Power
- Philosophy of Mind
- Existentialism
- Eastern Religions
- World Religions
- Tradition and Culture of Judaism
- Tradition and Culture of Christianity
- Religion, Society, and Culture
- Women and Religion
- Islam
- Literary Theory
- Rhetorical Theory
- Ancient Political Thought
- Modern Political Thought
- Science and Religion
Jessica Kyle, '07, Ph.D. Program, SUNY Binghamton
John Braught, '06, M.A. program Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) in Leuven, Belgium
Brian Medina, '06, Residential Life Director, Franklin Pierce College
Evan Smith, '05, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Aaron Arndt, '04, Ph.D. Program, Michigan State University
Brian Lonergan, '04, M.A. Program, West Chester University
Margaret Staunton, '04, Routledge Publishing Co.
Erin Weber, '04, Editorial Coordinator TechBooks/GTS York, PA.
Bonnie Eskridge, '03, M.A. Program in Literacy, Technology, and Professional Writing at Northern Arizona University
Julie Schneider, '02, Spanish Instructor M.Ed. Program, Saint Joseph's University
Marc Miller, '00, Archivist for Philadelphia Fight MLA Program, University of PA
Samuel Waddell, '00 Adjunct Writing Instructor, York College
Maureen Bradley, '98, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps
Wade Holden, '98, Analyst, Kagan Research, Carmel, CA.
Scott Seufert, '98, Attorney at Law, Mette Evans and Woodside
Steven Barnhart, '96, Intelligence Communications Senior Airman, U.S. Air Force.
Jamie Ray, '96, Center for Disability Law and Policy
Sharon Pavlosky Mitzel, '79, Vice President, Human Resources, York Graphic Services, York, PA.
Faculty Highlights
The faculty of the English and Humanities Department work collaboratively to provide students with an opportunity to develop an awareness of foreign language and culture, an understanding of the rhetorical dimension of language use and text production, hands-on experience in dramatic performance and directing, and a strong intellectual background in the form of literary, philosophical, and religious analysis of a wide variety of texts.
Gabriel Abudu, B.A., University of Ghana; Ph.D., Temple University, an authority on twentieth-century Afro-Cuban poetry, frequently publishes on Nancy Morejon, a major literary figure of our time.
Julie S. Amberg, B.A., Boston University, Ph.D., Tulane University, has research interests in early American literature, women's literature, and linguistics. She is currently completing work on a textbook under contract on language and linguistics.
Mary Boldt, B.A. Wilson College, M.A. and Ph.D. Brown University, teaches French and German and has interests in foreign language across the curriculum, second language acquisition, and international studies.
Dominic DelliCarpini, B.A., Univ. of PA; Ph.D., Penn State Univ., is a frequent presenter at national conferences on composition pedagogy and civic participation. He also does work on early modern literature, focusing especially upon Shakespeare, Milton, and Spenser.
Cindy Doutrich, B.A. and Ph.D., Penn State University, is coordinator for Foreign Languages and author of the McGraw-Hill text, Nuevos Destinos (New Destinations), now in its second edition.
Rory Kraft, B.A., Arizona State University, M.A., American University, Ph.D., Michigan State University, specializes in ethical theory and applied ethics and is interested in aesthetics and the history of western philosophy.
James McGhee, A.B., Montclair State College, Ph.D.; Bowling Green State University, is the Director of Theatre and has published Sonnets From the Surd as well as books on modern American dramatists Sam Shepard and Don Nigro.
William R. Miller, B.A., Eckerd College; Ph.D., State University of New York (Binghamton), is a nationally known poet and award-winning author of multicultural children's books.
Alexander Ian Olney, B.A., Rhodes College; Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a film studies scholar who is interested in European cinema, horror cinema, film and literature, and dramatic literature.
Colbey Reid, B.A., Univ. of Florida, M.A. and Ph.D., Univ. of Washington, takes an interdisciplinary approach to American and British modern literature, exploring the connections in modernist literature between glamour, style, and the notion of "mistake."
Gerald Siegel, B.A. Western Maryland College; M.A. Texas Christian University; M.Phil, Ph.D., George Washington University. His research interests include American and popular literature, especially horror literature, about which he has written.
Victor Taylor, B.A., Lemoyne College; Ph.D., Syracuse Univ., is widely published in post modernism. He is the author of (Para) Inquiry: Postmodern Literature, Culture, and Theology (Routledge 1999).
Deborah Vause, B.A., North Carolina State University; Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a medievalist with wide-ranging interests in Arthurian and fantasy literature, as well as in the study of the English language.
Dennis Weiss, B.A., Emory Univ.; Ph.D., U. of Texas at Austin, has done major research in metaphysics, the philosophy of human nature, and the digital culture. He is the editor of Interpreting Man and has authored essays on science fiction, philosophical anthropology, and philosophy of technology. He is department chair.
Janet Zepernick, B.A., Bowling Green State Univ.; Ph.D., Penn State Univ., is a rhetoric and composition specialist with an interest in the discourse of public policy-making.
Michael J. Zerbe, B.S., James Madison U.; Ph.D., Purdue U., is a specialist in rhetoric and composition and has a research interest in the application of rhetorical theory to medical and scientific writing.
