<p>Which department is stronger at Chicago, at the undergraduate level and the graduate level? </p>
<p>Just judging from their departmental websites, the philosophy one is really well designed, if that means anything.</p>
<p>I'm interested in law school down the road, though I'm far from sure about that.</p>
<p>In terms of philosophy, I'm much more interested in "practical philosophy" (ethics, social and political philosophy, aesthetics), while in history, I'm somewhat more interested in comparative/world history (though I'm aware that in the current academic atmosphere of specialization, this isn't very popular or respected).</p>
<p>I'm entering in as a freshman in Fall 2010, so I don't need to pick a major for a long time, but I was just curious about the strengths of each department at Chicago.</p>
<p>Here are some links to enlighten you:
[The</a> Philosophical Gourmet Report 2009 :: Undergraduate Study](<a href=“http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/undergrad.asp]The”>http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/undergrad.asp)
[The</a> Philosophical Gourmet Report 2009 :: The Study of Philosophy in Law Schools and Top Law Schools](<a href=“http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/lawsch.asp]The”>http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/lawsch.asp)
[The</a> Philosophical Gourmet Report 2009 :: Overall Rankings](<a href=“http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/overall.asp]The”>http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/overall.asp)
[The</a> Philosophical Gourmet Report 2009 :: Summary Of Rankings By Department<a href=“go%20down%20to%2021%20to%20find%20UoC”>/url</a></p>
<p>I can’t provide you any details on the history side of things, but I can provide you with some info on the phil side of things. UoC doesn’t exactly have the ‘best’ philosophy department in the world. They are very impressive, though, and they have some prominent figures in moral/poli phil (Martha Nussbaum, I’d say at least) and they have some pretty interesting characters that might not have their main interests in moral/poli phil but definitely are concerned with it (I think Pippin serves as an example of this, especially in this one extremely intriguing lecture of his - [url=<a href=“University of Chicago News”>University of Chicago News]2004</a> Ryerson Lecture: Robert Pippin: “Bourgeois Philosophy? On the Problem of Leading a Free Life.”](<a href=“http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/departments.asp]The”>http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/departments.asp)). Also, it seems as though going to UChicago is good for law school placement or something, but the link up there describes things fully, I believe. However, if you’re really looking for the best schools in moral/poli phil (at the grad level, at least) Harvard come to mind as being the so-called ‘powerhouse’ in the field.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>History… I’ve been told you can take your entire major pass/fail.
Take this fact as you may. </p>
<p>I’ve heard that the philosophy department can be pretty tough too though.</p>
<p>^ Can anyone confirm that pass/fail thing?</p>
<p>And what does that mean? Does that mean its ridiculously difficult?</p>
<p>I’m happy to talk up the philosophy department at the University of Chicago, being a potential major myself. Martha Nussbaum is certainly the most significant figure in the department, famous for her work with Aristotle, classical philosophy and philosophy of law. Also impressive is the ever-loved Ted Cohen, who I believe specializing in philosophy of art. We also have the Lears, one specializing in ancient philosophy and the other in philosophy of psychology. However, these two may be leaving soon for… Yale I think. Another character is Davidson, who I believe knew Foucault personally, and is the resident expert of his philosophy. </p>
<p>As you mentioned, the department is well-balanced. There are philosophers of science (Richards and Davey with Wimsatt as emeritus), a logician (Bridges) and still more experts in ancient philosophy (Callard and Forster, who also does German philosophy). I don’t know much about the guys who specialize in metaphysics/epistemology (Conant, Haugeland, Finklestein), except that Finklestein does magic tricks and the other two have magical hairdos. There’s Schultz and Pippin, who do political philosophy. Benoist and Kremer are the analytics, and Benoist is French (I believe), so he must know something about existentialism. Some of the younger members (the other Callard, Ford) are ethicists. According to Stern’s bio (which I had to reread because I forgot about him), he’s specializes in mediaeval philosophy and ‘theory of reference’…?</p>
<p>Although I haven’t taken any philosophy courses yet, I’ve encountered philosophy and these philosophers more than once. SOSC and HUMA both incorporate philosophers. I’ve taken Media Aesthetics, which is essentially a philosophy of art, literature and music course. We’ve read Plato, Aristotle, Hume and about a page of Smith. My SOSC is Classics of Soc&Pol, where we’ve read Plato, Aristotle, al-Farabi, Aquinas and Machiavelli. I’ve heard speeches from Cohen and both Lears… I almost ran into Cohen on my way out of the building–he was having a cigarrete… fun times.</p>