Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

About Philosophy and Religious Studies program

Philosophy and Religious Studies Faculty

Location: Building 10, Room 2325

Phone: (904) 620-1330; Fax: (904) 620-1840

Web Address: www.unf.edu/coas/philosophy/

Sarah A. Mattice, Chair: s.mattice@unf.edu

Mission

The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies is a diverse department of award-winning and internationally recognized scholar-teachers. The Department is home to the Philosophy Program, the Religious Studies Program, and the Florida Blue Center for Ethics.

The Philosophy Program provides undergraduate training that helps to prepare students for meaningful lives and successful careers. Students in our program study with internationally recognized faculty, developing skills in critical, creative, and collaborative reading, writing, speaking, and thinking. The program is focused on equipping students with core knowledge and skills, while acquainting them with the range and diversity of traditions and orientations in philosophy. The program is committed to the relevance of its efforts, emphasizing teaching and research attentive to the application of philosophical knowledge and skills. Informed by these commitments, the Department of Philosophy seeks to aid students in appreciating great intellectual conversations, clarifying unexamined assumptions, evaluating ideas, arguments, and norms, and participating thoughtfully and responsibly in public inquiry. Students who major in philosophy regularly go on to graduate work in philosophy, law, applied ethics, medicine, and technology; majors go on to careers in education, law, non-profit, technology, business, journalism, and more.

The Religious Studies Program prepares students to live and work in a connected world. . Internationally recognized faculty mentor students and handcraft individualized programs of study tailored to the individual student’s interests and career goals. Students in the program develop skills that foster intellectual, civic, and global engagement; gain cross-cultural awareness by describing and analyzing religious systems as they exist in historical and social contexts in an impartial, academic manner; develop clear thinking and writing skills; and learn to see the world through the eyes of others. Students who major in religious studies regularly go on to graduate work in religious studies, law, public health, international studies, and medicine; majors go on to careers in education, non-profit, government, business, and more.

The Department offers a variety of general education courses, including: HUM 2020 (GW) Introduction to Humanities, PHI 2010 (GW) Introduction to Philosophy, PHI 2630 (GW) Critical Thinking: Ethical Issues, PHI 2100 (GW) Critical Thinking: The Art of Reasoning, PHI 2101 (GM) Introduction to Logic, and REL 2300 (GW) Comparative Religion. PHI 2010 and HUM 2020 fulfill the Humanities requirement in Florida's General Education program. PHI 2630 and PHI 2100 Critical Thinking: The Art of Reasoning, fulfill the UNF General Education outcome in Critical Thinking. PHI 2101 fulfills a UNF General Education outcome in Reasoning and Analyzing Quantitatively. Students are encouraged to take these courses to advance their critical thinking skills. All courses are offered every term, including summer. Besides fostering students' critical thinking and writing skills, the courses also serve as background for more advanced and specialized courses in the B.A. in philosophy and the B.A. in Religious Studies.

The Department offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy with three tracks as well as four Minors. In Religious Studies, it offers a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and two minors.

B.A. in Philosophy

Students study the main developments and traditions in the history of philosophy in both western and non-western traditions; develop critical reasoning skills and facility with logical analysis; study modes of normative analysis in ethical inquiry and gain an ability to apply them to current social issues; learn to read complex prose systematically and critically, and learn to write and to speak in a reasoned, persuasive, and argumentatively effective manner.

Areas of faculty expertise include Ancient Greek philosophy, comparative and Non-Western philosophy, ethics, applied ethics, business ethics, environmental philosophy, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, contemporary European philosophy, feminist philosophy, pragmatism, and social, political and legal philosophy.

The BA in philosophy requires 33 hours. Three tracks are available. Required courses include PHI 3084 Philosophical Methods and PHI 2101 Introduction to Logic. The remaining courses are organized under topical domains that vary by track. Students can pick among a wide variety of courses under each heading, and the free electives can be chosen from any domain. The detailed lists are available on the department webpage.

Minors in Philosophy

There is a general minor in Philosophy, and additional specialized tracks. All require 15 hours. One 2000-level General Education philosophy course can be counted towards the Minor. Further information on the program, including current course offerings, can be obtained by consulting the Department's website.

B.A. in Religious Studies

Religious Studies is the multidisciplinary hub at UNF for discovering the roles and functions of religions in human life and culture. Students investigate religion in ways that foster intellectual, civic, and global engagement; gain cross-cultural awareness by describing and analyzing religious systems as they exist in historical and social contexts in an impartial, academic manner; develop clear thinking and writing skills; and learn to see the world through the eyes of others. Internationally recognized faculty mentor students and handcraft individualized programs of study. Faculty conduct scholarly research that contributes to the understanding of religions and regularly engage in public scholarship.

The BA in Religious Studies requires 30 credit hours. Students are required to take four courses: Comparative Religion (REL 2300); Religion as Culture (REL 3102); Religion: Theory and Method (REL 3040); and the Senior Seminar Capstone (REL 4910). Students can select any upper-level course with an REL designation for the remaining hours. Students are encouraged to participate in a study aboard experience. 

The program in Religious Studies offers significant Cultural Diversity courses in UNF's General Education program, including REL 2300 Comparative Religion, REL 3102 Religion as Culture, and REL 3074 Myth and Ritual.

Minor in Religious Studies

The Minor in Religious Studies requires 15 hours, including two required courses, REL 2300 Comparative Religion and REL 3102 Religion as Culture, and any three upper level Religious Studies (REL) courses or approved electives with prefixes other than REL. Further information on the Religious Studies program, including current course offerings, can be obtained by consulting the Department's website.

Minor in Jewish Studies

The Jewish Studies minor requires five courses in Jewish Studies, including two required courses:  Religion as Culture (REL 3102), and either REL 3630, American Judaism or PHH 3201, Jewish and Islamic Philosophy, as well as three additional courses, Further information can be obtained by consulting the department website.

Honors in Philosophy Major

The program is available to students in philosophy who are intellectually mature and who seek the challenge of doing a major research project under the supervision of a faculty mentor. This program is especially recommended to students who are considering graduate work in philosophy or another discipline, such as law, which requires substantial research and writing. To earn honors in philosophy, students must fulfill the requirements for the major with a 3.5 GPA in their major courses, must satisfactorily complete an honors thesis under the direction of a faculty member, and defend the thesis before a three-member committee. Students who complete these requirements will have honors in philosophy noted on the transcript and diploma. For further information and applications, contact the department.

Study Abroad/Community-Based Transformational Learning

The department is offering a diverse set of courses in UNF's Study Abroad program. The Department is the recipient of an Engaged Department Initiative for Community-Based Transformational Learning. The study abroad courses as well as the outreach to the community are organic aspects of its course offerings. Further information concerning specific course offerings during the current academic year can be obtained by consulting the Department's website. For future plans and projects, please contact the department chair.

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies Faculty

Paul M. Carelli, Associate Professor, Philosophy

Aaron Creller, Assistant Professor, Philosophy

Brandi N. Denison, Associate Professor, Director of Religious Studies

David E. W. Fenner, Professor, Philosophy

Mitchell R. Haney, Associate Professor, Philosophy

Hans-Herbert Koegler, Professor, Philosophy

Julie J. Ingersoll, Professor, Religious Studies

Sarah LaChance Adams, Associate Professor, Philosophy

Jonathan D. Matheson, Professor, Philosophy

Sarah A. Mattice, Chair, Professor, Philosophy

George Rainbolt, Professor, Philosophy

James “Dennis” LoRusso, Instructor, Religious Studies