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PHIL 260 Film and Philosophy

This course uses film to explore the human search for meaning through analysis of philosophical issues and questions as expressed in a wide variety of worldviews. Focus is on major theories of reality (metaphysics), knowledge (epistemology) and value (axiology) and their relevance to the formation of personal and cultural values, including the application of these values in ethical decision making.  The lens and the canons of film studies are tools of analysis.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

Eligible to enroll in ENGL 121

Hours Weekly

3

Course Objectives

  1. Examine and analyze a wide variety of worldviews, including Western, Asian, Inuit, Maori, Hindu, and the fictional worlds of film makers, to explore the human search for meaning in metaphysics (especially human nature), epistemology (especially aesthetic experience), and axiology (especially ethics).
  2. Analyze cross-cultural understandings of personhood, the nature of reality and ultimate reality, the search for knowledge and truth, the relationship between the individual and the state, and questions of ethics and freedom, including especially the shaping role of aesthetic, humanistic, and ethical values.
  3. Analyze film as a medium for creatively raising and innovatively exploring philosophical questions and their impact on cultural and personal values.

Course Objectives

  1. Examine and analyze a wide variety of worldviews, including Western, Asian, Inuit, Maori, Hindu, and the fictional worlds of film makers, to explore the human search for meaning in metaphysics (especially human nature), epistemology (especially aesthetic experience), and axiology (especially ethics).

    Learning Activity Artifact

    • Other (please fill out box below)
    • Weekly assignments and discussions (online and face-to-face)

    Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

    • Creative Process and Humanistic Inquiry Rubric

    Creative Process

    • CP1
    • CP4
  2. Analyze cross-cultural understandings of personhood, the nature of reality and ultimate reality, the search for knowledge and truth, the relationship between the individual and the state, and questions of ethics and freedom, including especially the shaping role of aesthetic, humanistic, and ethical values.

    Learning Activity Artifact

    • Other (please fill out box below)
    • Weekly assignments and discussions (online and face-to-face)

    Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

    • Creative Process and Humanistic Inquiry Rubric

    Creative Process

    • CP3
  3. Analyze film as a medium for creatively raising and innovatively exploring philosophical questions and their impact on cultural and personal values.

    Learning Activity Artifact

    • Other (please fill out box below)
    • Final assignment

    Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

    • Creative Process and Humanistic Inquiry Rubric

    Creative Process

    • CP2

    Program Goal(s)

    Degree: Philosophy and Religious Studies - A.A. Degree (Transfer)

    1. Identify, understand, evaluate, and apply ethical reasoning.