| Course Title: Philosophical Foundations of Chinese Thought: The Ancient Period |
| Start Date: 09/09/2026 End Date: 12/22/2026 |
| Term: Fall Semester 2026 |
| 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 |
| David Turon | dturon@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 09/09/2026 - 12/22/2026 | Discussion | Monday and Wednesday | 09:00AM - 10:15AM | TBA | TBA | 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. |
| PHIL0001 | PHIL-HP: History of Philosophy | This course has been approved to count towards the Philosophy major in the History of Philosophy area. |
| PRI0001 | Used to identify primary sides of crosslisted courses for Workday conversion |
| 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: 0 | Available: 18 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| To be determined. |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is NOT the complete book list for this class. |