Philosophy @ Carleton

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carleton College
1

<p>Hello! I'm strongly considering becoming a philosophy major in college, and as Carleton is probably at the top of my list right now, I'd love to hear some insider perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of Carleton's philosophy department.</p>

<p>How would you rate the profs (knowledge, intelligence, teaching ability, friendliness/approachability etc.)? How many majors are there, on average, and what tends to be the average class size for intro, intermediate, and advanced courses? How many grads go on to pursue a PhD in philosophy, and how successful have they been at getting into top grad programs? Are there particular subjects, interests, or disciplines that the department is especially strong or weak in? From what I could tell, except for the occasional Existentialism class, Continental philosophy seems a little underrepresented - does this change year by year? Does anyone know how the philosophy undergrad experience at Carleton compares to its peer institutions (esp. Pomona and Haverford) ? How easy is it to arrange an independent study? Finally, are there a lot of (major or non-major) philosophy geeks at Carleton (willing to, say, read philosophy books for fun, or at least have late night discussions about armchair philosophy)? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I’d like to know the answer to this as well. I was accepted ED to Carleton, so that’s where I’m going, but I’m also considering a philosophy major. </p>

<p>From what I could tell, the Philosophy kids seemed like really awesome people. I think they even made shirts that read: “We read Kant so you don’t have to.”</p>

<p>This link is also rather interesting:
<a href=“https://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/philosophy/alumni/academiccareers/#twothousandfive[/url]”>https://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/philosophy/alumni/academiccareers/#twothousandfive&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Ugh, I just wrote a long and articulate response to this, and got an error message when I tried to submit. I don’t feel like retyping the whole thing right now, but the gist of it is, the philosophy department is great. It is small and close knit, the professors have a great sense of humor, and are very accessible. The department has recently undergone a changing of the guard, so many of the professors are relatively young and have graduated from top programs, including U Chicago, McGill, and interestingly MIT. </p>

<p>As for the academic side of things, I felt the department was on par with the most rigorous departments at Carleton. Expect a lot of essays and readings every night. Philosophy as a discipline tends to emphasize concision and clarity, so the assignments are not as bulky as say, History, but the workload is still pretty heavy (as you should expect at Carleton). Most majors don’t go into philosophy graduate programs, but I think that’s more due to the nature of the field, rather than the quality of the major. The ones who do go on usually get into top programs. There are certainly philosophy geeks at Carleton, but even those who I wouldn’t describe as philosophy die hards are down to have a good philosophical conversation. Carls in general are a curious and intellectual bunch, and I think philosophy is inherently interesting to most people, and relates to almost every subject, so it’s easy to slip it into most conversations.</p>

<p>As to your question of whether Continental philosophy is lacking, I don’t think this is the case. About 2/3 of my classes involved or focused on Continental philosophy, the other 1/3 being on American. If anything is lacking in the philosophy department it’s Eastern, which is all but non-existent, however those classes are often offered by the Religion department.</p>

<p>On the whole the philosophy department at Carleton is excellent. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask this philosophy major alum. Sorry this was not as detailed as my original response, but hopefully this gives you some good information.</p>

4

<p>Thanks Clevelandude!</p>

<p>I know what you mean - errors/bugs that lose your work are the worst! But your response was still detailed and informative.</p>

<p>You said there has been a changing of the guard - I believe Jason Decker, Daniel Groll, and Sarah Jansen are new, right? Do you know if grad schools respect young departments? Would you say the newer profs are as strong as the recently retired ones?</p>

<p>The lack of Eastern philosophy is something I noticed too - do they ever bring in visiting professors with those specialties? How flexible are they about independent studies (perhaps in an area of Eastern philosophy, or African or Islamic philosophy)? It’s not a necessity for me, but I think sometimes the study of philosophy is too Western centric. </p>

<p>Another thing I noticed about the course offerings was that higher level seminars seemed to generally be quite topical, rather than focusing on a very narrow school of thought, philosopher, or philosophical work (say, a specific study of Wittgenstein or Heidegger - the only specific one I saw concerned Aristotle, and he is often studied separately) - would you say courses provide a great amount of depth in addition to breadth? They also seemed rather few in number (only two 300 level courses offered in 2012-13) - any comment?</p>

<p>Do ten-week trimesters impact the depth of study, or seem to compound stress?</p>

<p>Finally, do you have any knowledge/experience about other schools’ philosophy departments - what most sets apart Carleton’s department?</p>

<p>It’s great to hear about your excellent impressions of the department. Thanks again for the answers! (And sorry for this barrage of questions - I just threw a bunch out there, I’m not expecting an answer for all of them!).</p>

5

<p>Ugh, it happened again! At least this time I was able to save the first half. Anyway, here is my attempt to answer your questions, with an (apologetically) somewhat rushed sounding second half. Hope this helps.</p>

<p>Honestly, not having applied to graduate school in philosophy, I’m not sure how the whole process works in terms of the level of respect that the department evokes, however I can tell you that the professors are excellent educators. Since Carleton is not really a research institution, and is more of a teaching oriented college, you won’t find the big name, widely known professors you might find in the Ivies. They are, however, engaging, sharp, and student oriented. Again, they all graduated from top programs, and studied with some of the leading names in their field, but their primary goal isn’t making a name for themselves, it’s educating their students, which they do very well. Graduate schools know this, and respect it.</p>

<p>You are right about most seminars being topical, however they do offer more narrow classes here and there. Last year they did offer a Wittgenstein seminar. Many of the classes are rather broad, which I don’t think is a bad thing, because it gives you a wide range of different perspectives on an issue. A large part of philosophy is making and respond to counterarguments, so this is important. If you’re interested in a particular philosopher you can usually delve into it more in your essays. If you want to really go into depth with a more narrow subject area, independent study is an option (though one which I did not partake in); also Comps is an opportunity to study whatever or whomever you want, and many students do choose to focus on a particular philosopher.</p>

<p>Carleton terms in general are fast and furious, but professors are organized and pace the classes well. By the end of the course, if you’ve done all the coursework, and participated in class discussions, you will leave with a good understanding of the subject. The pace can be stressful, especially during the second half of term, but you adapt.</p>

<p>If anything sets Carleton’s philosophy department apart it’s a focus on teaching, very sharp professors, and rigorous coursework. Professors don’t have a lot of tolerance for “fluff” that I think other philosophy departments may have more patience for. They emphasize clarity and logical coherence, and will usually ignore or reject fluffy arguments when they come up in discussions or essays. Another thing that sets the department apart is its cohesiveness. The professors are all good friends with each other, and two (Dan Groll and Jason Decker) have even formed a very popular local band called The Counterfactuals.</p>

<p>I hope this answers all your questions. If you have any more, I’ll be more than happy to answer them.</p>

6

<p>So, my decision is coming up in the next couple days. I have some last-minute questions about Carleton Philosophy.</p>

<p>First - you mention there is little tolerance for fluff in discussions. Does this make students more hesitant to speak up in class. How active/vibrant are class discussions? How deep do they penetrate, or do they tend to follow a prof question/student answer, let’s figure out what the text is saying, and describe our intuitive reactions type formula (as opposed to, let’s follow this line of reasoning, see how far it takes us; this argument is reminiscent of this other one, how could we integrate; perhaps this insight could be extended to that etc. - really alive and productive discussion). Obviously, this depends hugely on the class, but there is probably a mean/norm that you might be able to describe.</p>

<p>Would you say all the professors are equally strong and able to keep up productive discussion in class (specifically looking at younger/newer ones)? With the small size of the department, one being weaker in an area of interest for me might more significantly impact my experience with philosophy. </p>

<p>Also, terms are fast and furious you say - does this result in more surface-y discussion, or discussion that focuses more on understanding the author and not formulating your own, rigorous opinion?</p>

<p>Also, how tightly-knit is the department with respect to students? Are there regular get-togethers thrown by the department? Does the philosophy department have its own lounge and/or library area that functions as a study/hang out area for those interested in philosophy. How much after class/before class/entirely different day than class discussion with professors goes on?</p>

<p>Finally, do you know anyone who has personally felt limited by the course options in philosophy?</p>

7

<p>Hi, I’ll try to answer your questions one by one, like a philosopher. First, students are generally not hesitant to speak up in class (except for the shy ones of course), but if a more fluffy argument comes up, professors will try to steer discussions in a more rigorous, logical direction, which is probably pretty standard for philosophy. As far as depth of the discussion goes, and lines of reasoning vs. understanding the text, I’d say it really depends on the professor and the class, however, usually you end up with a fairly good balance of both. I’d say that you do get a good deal of depth in a Carleton term, no more or less than in a semester school, but trimesters do require you to be more focused and studious over the 10 week trimester than you would have to be at a semester school. </p>

<p>I would say that the professors are equally strong, and I would consider their youth an asset. Discussions are lively, classes are focused, and humor is encouraged. I don’t know the newest professor, but I’m sure she’s up to Carleton standards (i.e. very good). Naturally, different professors have different specialties and strengths, however they do sometimes teach out of their comfort zones (though you’re not likely to find Jason Decker, the resident logician, teaching an Ethics class; or Dan Groll, the resident Ethicist, teaching an epistemology class). In general professors are very strong in one or 2 areas, and competent in most others. </p>

<p>There is a lounge for students. It’s small, but there’s tea, some journals, a couch, etc. Generally philosophy majors don’t work together as much as students in other departments, but there is certainly a comradery among the majors. Being such a small department, you get to know the other majors well from seeing them in many of your classes and participating in discussions together. There are also occasional events, such as bowling, and some other… shall we say clandestine events/traditions that are very fun and memorable. Also, some philosophy students started an extracurricular student organization that focuses on one topic of discussion a week.</p>

<p>Personally, I don’t know anyone who felt limited by the course options in philosophy. Generally if there is a course someone is interested in that isn’t being offered by the philosophy department, it’s being offered by the religion department. </p>

<p>Good luck with your choice, I hope I’ve been helpful to you. I will say it again, Carleton philosophy was the best part of Carleton for me. I loved everything about it, from the professors to the other students, to the classes. But what’s for me may not be for everyone. It sounds like you know what you want, and I hope you make a choice you’ll be happy with. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with Carleton for philosophy.</p>