Department of Philosophy

The Department of Philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology offers a large variety of undergraduate courses plus graduate courses in Philosophy of Art/Aesthetics and Philosophy of Mind. Beyond our introductory level courses, students may take philosophy as Liberal Arts electives or as part of either a Concentration Area or a Minor in Philosophy. The Department also develops a rich annual program of outside speakers, symposia and colloquia.

The Philosophy Department is motivated by a strong dedication to excellence in teaching. Most of our faculty have received teaching awards, and some of our faculty have received multiple teaching awards. The Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching is RIT’s highest tribute to successful pedagogy, and the Department of Philosophy is home to eight of these awards:

John T. Sanders (1979-1980)
James I. Campbell (1991-1992)
Timothy Engström (1993-1994)
Dane R. Gordon (1996-1997)
James I. Campbell (1999-2000)
John T. Sanders (2000-01)
David B. Suits (2002-03)
Timothy Engström (2007-2008)

The Philosophy Department is also motivated by a strong commitment to scholarship, as evidenced by the scholarly activities of the individual members of the Department, by the Department’s speaker series and colloquia, and by the scholarship awards which have been won. Each year two Paul A. and Francena L. Miller Fellowships are awarded to assist faculty in the College of Liberal Arts in the pursuit of their scholarly and professional projects. The Department of Philosophy has been the home of four of those prestigious Fellowships:

Timothy Engström (2002-2003)
Brian Schroeder (2003-2004)
John Capps (2005-2006)
Evan Selinger (2007-2008)

Some of the recent accomplishments of the faculty include:

Jesús Aguilar (with A. Buckareff), Philosophy of Action: 5 Questions (Automatic Press/VIP, forthcoming 2008).

John Capps, “Addressing Controversies in Science Education: A Pragmatic Approach to Evolution Education” (with David Hildebrand and Kimberly Bilica), Science and Education (forthcoming in October, 2008).

Timothy Engström, Rethinking Theories and Practices of Imaging (co-edited with Evan Selinger) (Penn State University Press, forthcoming 2008).

Wade Robison, “The Great Right: Habeas Corpus”, in Coercion and the State, ed. David A. Reidy and Walter J. Riker (Springer, forthcoming 2008), pp. 161-173.

Brian Schroeder (ed. with Silvia Benso), Levinas and the Ancients (Indiana University Press, 2008).

Evan Selinger, New Waves in Philosophy of Technology (co-edited with Jan Olsen and Soren Riis) (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2008).

Katie Terezakis (ed), Engaging Agnes Heller: A Critical Companion (Lexington Books, forthcoming August 2008).

Lawrence Torcello, “Is the State Endorsement of Any Marriage Justifiable? Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and the Marriage Privatization Model”, Public Affairs Quarterly (forthcoming in 2008).

Evelyn Brister, “Darwinism”, in Lachs and Talisse (eds.), American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia (Routledge, 2007).

Dane R. Gordon, Saint Petersburg (FootHills Publishing, 2007).

John T. Sanders, “Contracting Justice”, in Malcolm Murray (ed.), Liberty, Games, and Contracts: Jan Narveson and the Defence of Libertarianism (Ashgate, 2007).

David B. Suits, “Really Believing in Fiction”, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 87 (2006): 369-386.