Let me first say that I understand
students' frustration with the technical
end of the course. I have done everything I
can to be accomodating.

The concept of this course is to develop
two kinds of learning. One kind is factual
knowledge of the history of philosophy, to
understand the various theories and
important figures in the field, and to be
familiar with some of the jargon and
technical terms. That is what the text and
handouts are for. I am available through
email, phone, or in person visits to my
office to help you with this. The
"interactive" part of the course relies on
YOU to take initiative.

The second kind of learning is being able
to argue philosophical points, think
creatively and "do philosophy" instead of
simply learning ABOUT philosophy. That
is what the listserv/webboard is primarily
about, though it can also be used for
students to help one another learn the
"factual" matters. The concept behind the
listserv discussion is "peer learning".
This is clearly stated in the syllabus. You
learn and work together with other
students rather than having the instructor
spoon-feed you the "right" answers.
Please reread that portion of the syllabus
if you are confused about this.

I frankly have a hard time wrapping my
mind around the idea that someone
could lack things to say about the
assigned readings. Note also that the
requirements for posting are very lax. You
simply have to comment on the material
in some significant way. Part of the
reasoning for this is to foster a
non-judgemental atmosphere where
students could feel safe expressing and
sharing their ideas and not have their
creativity stifled. If you are the sort of
person who prefers writing two page
expository essays on assigned topics,
you picked the wrong class.

I am doing the best I can under the
constraints imposed on me. If any
students have some constructive
comments, please EMAIL me. For
example, would weekly chat office hours
be helpful?

I will post additional readings tomorrow. I
haven't been in a hurry to post more
assignments this week since this is the
week students must take the exam and I
expect them to be concentrating on the
material given thus far in the course and
preparing for the exam.

If you feel unprepared for the exam,
please come by office hours, email or call
and we can go over the study guide,
readings, handouts, etc. and I can help
you with any questions you might have.

Prof. Borrowdale
borrowdalej@lanecc.edu