I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Philosophy and Popular Culture

2. Course Prefix & Number:
PHIL 1415

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

Lab Hours: 0

4. Course Description:

This philosophy course will examine ways in which a variety of non-standard sources--films, novels, music, television--can offer insights into compelling philosophical questions such as the nature of knowledge, the meaning of reality, what it means to live ethically, and the meaning and possibilities of justice. Too often, philosophy is perceived by students to be simply a study of archaic ideas from long-dead sages. Philosophical ideas and questions, however, provide a pervasive underpinning for much of popular culture. And, equally importantly, popular culture increasingly presents itself as the platform for shared discourse within our society (and world).

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Moorhead State University, PHIL 290 Special Topics in Philosophy, 3 credits
Bemidji State University, PHIL 2280 Current Issues, 3 credits
Bemidji State University, PHIL 2290 Topics of Philsophers, 3 credits
SCSU, PHIL 112 Philosophical Explorations, 3 credits

III. Course Purpose

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:
Goal 6 – Humanities and Fine Arts

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Accurately apply basic theoretical concepts detailed in various philosophical theories to specific issues raised by popular culture.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of philosophical thought in popular culture (MnTC Goal 6);
• Connect philosophical ideas found in popular culture to established philosophical theories (MnTC Goal 6); and
• Articulate an informed, rationally supported personal reaction to these philosophers’ works using discipline-specific language in the analysis of popular culture (MnTC Goal 6).

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

Due to the immense breadth of the subject matter, the major topics and subtopics covered in this course will vary greatly from instructor to instructor. The textbook selections below provide some examples of possible topics. In all courses the approach will be the same—analyzing various popular culture sources through the lens of philosophy. The process will involve analysis, understanding, application, and reflection of the philosophical ideas, theories, and questions from major philosophers raised by and addressed in popular culture sources such as television shows, films, music, or novels. The following is a sample outline for a course considering a philosophical approach to the television show Seinfeld.

Seinfeld and Philosophy

1. Philosophical Character Analysis
• Jerry & Socrates: the Examined Life
• George and Aristotle
• Elaine Benes and Feminism
• Kramer and Kierkegaard
2. Seinfeld and the Philosophers
• Seinfeld, Taoism & Sophism: Nothingness
• Seinfeld, Nietzsche & Plato: Time, Essence, Eternal Recurrence
• Seinfeld and Sartre: Existentialism
• Seinfeld and Wittgenstein: on the Commonplace
3. Seinfeld and Epistemology, theories of knowledge
• George and Rationalism
• Peterman and the Ideological mind: Paradoxes of Subjectivity
• Humor in Seinfeld: Significance and insignificance
4. Seinfeld and Morality
• The Moral Life
• Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
• Moral Obligation and Legality