2020-21 Academic Catalog

Children are naturally curious. They want to know about the world and their place in it. In other words, children are naturally philosophical. This course is about helping children explore and develop their nascent philosophical abilities via children's literature. To that end, the bulk of this course is devoted to preparing for, and then making, visits to a first grade class at Greenvale Park Elementary School in Northfield. Along the way, we'll explore the philosophy that can be found in all kinds of kids' books and learn about presenting complicated ideas in simpler form. In consultation with the instructor, this course will count toward either the Practical/Value requirement or the Theoretical requirement in the Philosophy Major for students who elect to write a final research paper. Prerequisite: Previous Philosophy course