Lecture (LEC)

• Above class open to graduates only
• Above class restricted to entering PHIL graduates only
• Above class graded on S/F basis only

The Proseminar is required of all incoming graduate students. The primary role of the seminar in the program is to provide new students with a great deal of feedback on their philosophical writing their first term in the program and to provide early opportunities for practice in making seminar presentations and participating in seminar discussions. Students will write an essay a week and a student will be chosen at random to present their paper to the seminar each week. The readings will be chosen in part on the basis of the areas of interest of the members of the incoming class. This portion of the class will go on for 10-11 weeks, after which we will turn to the secondary role of the seminar. The secondary role is to provide a mini-course on success in graduate school and beyond. This will involve bringing in a variety of guest speakers drawn from faculty and graduate students in the department community to talk on subjects such as negotiating graduate student life and work-life balance, submitting papers to conferences and journals, how to approach a qualifying exam paper, how to write a dissertation, and how to prepare for the job market.