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Alison Crane Reiheld Ph.D. Candidate Department of Philosophy Study without reflection is a waste. Reflection without study is a danger. -Kongzi (Confucius) |
I am
seeking an academic position beginning Fall of 2007 that will allow me to both
teach and engage in scholarly pursuits. I am also interested in
developing ties between academic philosophy and the community surrounding the
Academy that will benefit both. Such ties include bioethics work with
local hospitals, clinics, and biotech companies, other work in applied ethics, and volunteer work in
public schools at all levels. One example of the latter is MSU's Philosophy for Young People elective with
I
believe that teaching and scholarship in the discipline of philosophy, whether
theoretical or applied, can be valuable to people from all walks of life, be
they students or professionals. This value can be instrumental, as when
philosophical skills of argumentation and critical thinking benefit those who
apply them. This value can also be intrinsic, for contemplation has its
own merits. Academic philosophy's greatest social benefit is that it can
provide the interest and skills that (1) engage and develop human curiosity and
(2) are necessary to raise the level of public debate in our society about
issues ranging from the abstract meaning of life to the concrete matter of
legal and moral stances regarding embryonic stem cells.
· Areas of Specialization: Bioethics; Ethics and Value Theory
· Areas of Competency: Justice; Social and Political Philosophy; Epistemology
· Curriculum Vitae, last revised 11.12.05
· Courses for which I have served as primary instructor:
o
Syllabi for LBS133 Sec 3 (Fall
2004) and LBS133 Sec
1 (Spring 2005), Introduction to
Science and Technology Studies, MSU.
This course is required for all students in
o
Syllabus for HSSC 2702, Ethics,
January-May 2004,
o Course website PHL 344 Sec 701, Ethical Issues in Health Care, May-July 2003, MSU. This off-campus section of the course adapted the successful in-class presentation format to individual presentations. Particular attention was paid, in this section, to teaching students how to read philosophical texts by training them to look for arguments and ask certain kinds of questions of themselves while reading such texts. See Teaching Project, at the bottom of this page, for my strategies.
o Syllabus for PHL 344 Sec 101, Ethical Issues in Health Care, May-July 2002, MSU. This on-campus section of the course took advantage of the fact that students would be able to meet with each other outside of class by asking students to do paired presentations. In-class debates proved a highly successful way of making sure all pertinent arguments were familiar to all students.
o Syllabus for PHL 344 Sec 702, Ethical Issues in Health Care, May-July 2001, MSU. This off-campus section of the course was the first course I taught, and required me to (in practice) reduce the ambitious reading schedule listed on the syllabus to the most critical readings. Subsequent syllabus designs worked harder to provide a manageable, yet thorough, level of reading. I described the arguments in the other readings during my lectures, and set students to use the arguments presented in the course in in-class debates.
· Courses for which I have served as teaching assistant:
o
BIOL 124, Physiology and Ecology,
o PHL 200, Introduction to Philosophy, MSU, Spring 2002, under the supervision of primary instructor Dr. Richard Hall
o PHL 344, Ethical Issues in Health Care, MSU, Fall 2001, under the supervision of primary instructor Misha Strauss
o IAH 206, Self, Society, and Technology, MSU, Fall 2002-Spring 2003, team-teaching with primary instructor Dr. Stephen Esquith
· Teaching Project: teaching students with little or no philosophy background to read and understand theoretical and applied ethics texts.
· Philosophy for Young People:
o Some tips from my presentation with Rory Kraft on early childhood education and philosophy, entitled "Big Thoughts, Little Containers: Philosophy for Young People"
o Philosophy Slam: an annual competition for young people K-12, with age appropriate formats and prizes.
o Questions: Philosophy for Young People - a new journal that provides teaching ideas strategies for young people K-12, available online in PDF format.
o
Mount
· MSU Graduate Student Philosophy Conference. Every year, the graduate students of the MSU Department of Philosophy organize a graduate student conference. We collect nominations for keynote speakers, vote on keynote speaker candidates, and contact the winner of the vote. We take care of getting funding from various sources within the university and from attendees, and organize the conference ourselves. I have been involved at one level or another with the conference since I first came to the department.