| Course Title: Philosophical Foundations of Chinese Thought: the Ancient Period |
| Start Date: 01/28/2025 End Date: 05/13/2025 |
| Term: Spring Semester 2025 |
| Description: An introduction to Chinese thought during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (roughly 770-256 BCE), a time of remarkable philosophical growth and controversy. We read the works of this era's most influential philosophers, including: Kongzi (Confucius), Mozi, Laozi, Mengzi (Mencius), Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi. Topics discussed include: What makes for a just ruler? What kind of life should we live? What is our relationship to nature? We work to understand each philosopher's responses to these questions, but we also learn to develop our own answers. We take care to place these figures and their works in their historical and cultural context. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities , MP - Multicultural Perspectives , WI - Writing-Intensive |
| Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate | Credits:4.00 |
| Faculty | Phone | Email address |
| James Harold | 413-538-2366 | jharold@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 01/28/2025 - 05/13/2025 | Discussion | Monday and Wednesday | 10:00AM - 11:15AM | SKNR - Skinner Hall | 210 | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| None |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| Course Tags | ||
| ASIAN0001 | ASIAN: Asian Studies minor | This course has been approved to count towards the Asian Studies minor. |
| EASIA0001 | EASIA: East Asian Studies major | This course has been approved to count towards the East Asian Studies major. |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| PHIL-212-01 Found. of Chinese Thought |
| ASIAN-214-01 Found. of Chinese Thought |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Open | Capacity: 18 | Enrollment: 16 | Available: 2 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| Title: Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy Author: Ivanhoe and Van Norden, P.J. and Bryan W. Copyright: 2023 Edition: 3rd Volume: ISBN: 9781647921088 Publisher: Hackett |
Required | 36.00 |
| Title: Zhuangzi: Basic Writings Author: Watson, Burton Copyright: 2003 Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9780231129596 Publisher: Columbia University Press |
Required | 28.00 |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is the complete book list for this class. |