Colloquiums
The colloquium is a chance for faculty members to introduce each other and interested students to the challenging texts that inform their current research projects. Faculty members volunteer to introduce a literary, philosophical, or theoretical text of interest, and department members and students read the text and come prepared to discuss it. Colloquium topics generally follow a theme that is chosen by the faculty member who volunteers to organize that semester's colloquium.
2018
“Should People Come into Existence?”
The Unqualified Pessimism of David Benatar
- Reader Thomas Wall
- Date May 3, 2018
- Poster See it on Facebook
2013
“Introduction to a Political Philosopher, Carl Schmitt”
- Reader Thomas Wall
- Date April 23, 2013
“Alternative Traditions in Western Spirituality”
- Reader Kurt Cline
- Date April 30, 2013
“Derrida’s ‘On Forgiveness’”
- Reader Louis Lo
- Date May 21, 2013
2011
“On Leo Strauss”
- Reader Thomas Wall
- Date December 20, 2011
“On Ayn Rand”
- Reader John Griffith
- Date December 27, 2011
“Psychology from a Medieval Standpoint”
- Reader John Griffith
- Date May 3, 2011
“Lacan: The Varieties of Sex”
- Reader Thomas Wall, Vinia Huang, David Kuo
- Date May 10, 2011
“Jung: Alechemy and Art”
- Reader Kurt Cline, Jasmine Tseng
- Date May 17, 2011
2009
“Introduction to Classical Economics”
- Reader Thomas Wall
- Date November 17, 2009
“Friedrich Hayek and The Road to Serfdom”
- Reader Hannes Bergathaller
- Date December 15, 2009
“Milton Friedman and Reaganomics”
- Reader John Griffith
- Date December 29, 2009
“The Idea of Universal History: Augustine and Kant”
- Reader John Griffith
- Date May 22, 2009
“The Chinese Concept of History”
- Reader Su-Feng Chou
- Date June 2, 2009
2008
“The End of History”
- Reader Thomas Wall
- Date November 18, 2008
“‘Posthistoire’ and ‘Cultural Crystalization’”
- Reader Hannes Bergathaller
- Date December 16, 2008
“The Protestant-Catholic Divide”
- Reader John Griffith
- Date April 8, 2008
2006
“Introduction to Rene Descartes: Ego/Cogito/Sum”
- Reader Thomas Wall
- Date October 16, 2006
“Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”
- Reader Chu-po Chen
- Date October 30, 2006
2007
“Translation (I): King Alfred, Walter Benjamin, and the Task of the Translator”
- Reader John Griffith
- Date May 23, 2007
“Translation (II): Literal Sense and Literary Creation in the Medieval World”
- Reader John Griffith
- Date June 7, 2007
“Thomas Aquinas: An Introduction”
- Reader John Griffith
- Date April 5, 2007
“Other Than Descartes: Consciousness Studies Today”
- Reader Kurt Cline
- Date November 13, 2007