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Values & Knowledge (MA)
Course Overview
The relation between values and knowledge is a central concern for any society. At present, it is widely assumed that the pursuit of knowledge is valuable only to the degree that it has measurable practical benefits as an outcome. Our MA programme offers a context for detailed consideration of this assumption. We identify and question the issues involved in it at deeper levels of analysis than are available through ordinary discussion.
This high level of critical scrutiny is made possible through the programme’s broad philosophical perspective - engaging with questions arising in other disciplines also. More specifically, our programme provides an in-depth study of different forms of values in terms of both their cognitive basis and their relation to other areas of knowledge and activity. We also consider the way in which knowledge has been defined and theorized since the Enlightenment. The programme combines historical perspectives and contemporary critical debates so as to provide a fund of analytic and argumentative skills that are advantageous for further work in philosophy or for competing in the job market. A notable feature of the programme is that students are given the opportunity to organize a peer-reviewed international graduate conference. In so doing, students of the programme engage in knowledge exchange with their international peers.
Scholarships Available
Find out about our Postgraduate Scholarships here.
Applications and Selections
Applications are made online via the NUI Galway Postgraduate Applications System. Applications are welcome from students whose primary degree was in Philosophy or a cognate subject.
Who Teaches this Course
Requirements and Assessment
Key Facts
Entry Requirements
Applicants should have or expect to obtain a grade of an overall Second Class Honours, Grade 2 (H2:2) or higher with a Second Class Honours, Grade 1 (H2:1) in Philosophy in their first degree. Applications are welcome from students whose primary degree was in Philosophy or a cognate subject.
Additional Requirements
Duration
1 year, full-time; 2 years, part-time
Next start date
September 2021
A Level Grades ()
Average intake
12
Closing Date
Please view offer rounds website
NFQ level
Mode of study
Taught
ECTS weighting
90
Award
CAO
Course code
1MVK1, full-time | 1MVK2, part-time
Course Outline
Full-time
The full-time programme is completed over one academic year. Students must take modules and complete a minor dissertation to the value of 90 ECTS in total.
Part-time
- Students must take modules and complete a minor dissertation to the value of 90 ECTS in total over two years
- Students must attain 30 ECTS in year 1 to progress to Year 2
- Students must attain 60 ECTS in Year 2.
The range of modules on offer may vary from year to year depending on staff availability
Sample Modules
Research Methods CORE 10 ECTS
Philosophy seminar: participation and management CORE 10 ECTS
Dissertation CORE 30 ECTS
Political Values in the Modern World OPTIONAL 10 ECTS
Moral Reasoning OPTIONAL 10 ECTS
The Philosophy of Emotion OPTIONAL 10 ECTS
Knowledge and Value in Modernity OPTIONAL 10 ECTS
Environmental Aesthetics OPTIONAL 10 ECTS
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence OPTIONAL 10 ECTS
Cultural Philosophy of Globalisation OPTIONAL 10 ECTS
Phenomenology of Art and Culture OPTIONAL 10 ECTS
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Core modules
PI6104 Research Methods—Dr.Heike Felzmann
This course will support students in developing advanced research skills in philosophy. Students will develop familiarity and competence with the advanced use of library resources and electronic databases relevant to philosophy research and will be introduced to the use of reference management programmes. They will discuss basic elements of advanced philosophical writing and will be supported throughout the different stages of developing their MA thesis. The module will comprise some on-line discussions via Blackboard.
PI504.I Philosophy Seminar: Participation and Management—Dr. Tsarina Doyle
This module allows students to do a substantial presentation of their research at discipline level, and to receive training and experience in both chairing seminars and contributing to them. Assessment is based on the presented paper in semester 1 or 2
PI6106 Dissertation
Each student will write a 15,000-word dissertation, based on research into a topic of their choice, and supervised by a member of staff in Philosophy.
Optional Modules
PI6103 Knowledge and Value in Modernity—Dr. Tsarina Doyle
This module will examine the issues of Value and Knowledge in the historical context of Modernity. Attention will be given to such issues as the character of human subjectivity, the relation between mind and world, objectivity, the status of natural science and human values, and the character of modern culture. A range of modern philosophers will be discussed, including Hume, Kant and Nietzsche. Attention will also be given to the intersections between modern and contemporary arguments.
PI6110 Ethics and Artificial Intelligence – Dr. Heike Felzmann
Artificial intelligence technologies have evolved dramatically in recent years, impacting on many areas of human life. Societal responses to these developments have ranged from enthusiastic optimism to deep suspicion. The module will explore prominent ethical issues arising in relation to the design, use and societal impact of Artificial Intelligence. Topics addressed in the module include Philosophy of Technology, Value Sensitive Design, Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Privacy and consent, Contextual integrity, Transparency and explainable AI, Trust and Trustworthiness, Datafication, Algorithmic surveillance, Algorithmic Bias, Autonomous artificial agents and responsibility, and Human replacement.
PI6102 Political Values in the Modern World—Dr. Richard Hull
This course will look at the ways in which political values interact with the modern world. It will begin with an introduction to central political and ethical theories along with exploration of key distinctions that tend to be relied upon, whether implicitly or explicitly. It will then focus on current issues in political theory, concentrating on themes such as justice, equality, freedom, toleration and genetics. It will look at how these themes are contested in modern diverse democracies.
PI6108 Environmental Aesthetics—Dr. Gerald Cipriani
This module aims to provide students with an insightful understanding and critical grasp of environmental issues in relation to aesthetic values. The module will draw from a variety of philosophical and cultural traditions East-West to explore aesthetic conceptions of nature or the environment at large. Those include beauty, the sublime, the picturesque, the wilderness, the environment and the idea of milieu.
PI6105 Moral Reasoning—Dr. Heike Felzmann
Moral reasoning is conceptualised in fundamentally different ways, from being rational and principle-driven, to being based on intuition or affective processes, to being grounded in shared social practices. In this course students will explore different approaches to moral reasoning in relation to both historical and contemporary authors, and address the relation between philosophical analysis and psychological and neuroscientific findings.
PI6101 The Philosophy of Emotion—Dr. Felix O’Murchadha
This course will explore emotion and feeling from a phenomenological perspective. Taking account of classical phenomenological texts and contemporary debates, this course will consist in a discussion of the nature of emotion, an analysis of specific emotions and finally an exploration of some broader themes with respect to emotion, specifically with respect to the constitution of the self and the nature personhood.
SPA442 Phenomenology of Art & Culture—Dr. Gerald Cipriani
The module explores the phenomenology of art and culture. The lectures draw from the philosophical tradition that seeks to disclose and understand the formation of meaning as it appears in practice, perception and interpretation. The module therefore introduces the students to the methods and styles of phenomenology with particular reference to the visual arts and cultures. Phenomenology should not here be understood in the narrow sense of a dogmatic theoretical framework, but rather as a form of reflection that makes us both becoming aware of and contributing to the processes involved in meaning formation from different perspectives. Authors considered include Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, and Lyotard.
PI6107 Cultural Philosophy of Globalisation—Dr. Gerald Cipriani
This module aims to provide students with an insightful understanding and critical grasp of ethical and aesthetic issues related to the phenomenon of globalisation. Those include the impact globalisation has had on identity formation, whether that of persons, cultures, or communities. The module will also consider the degree to which technology affects ethical and aesthetic values within the context of globalisation.
Modules for Full-Time Course
Modules for Part-Time Course
Curriculum Information
Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Glossary of Terms
- Credits
- You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
- Module
- An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
- Optional
- A module you may choose to study.
- Required
- A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
- Semester
- Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year.
Year 1 (90 Credits)
Required PI6104: Research Methods
PI6104: Research Methods
Semester 1 and Semester 2 | Credits: 10
This course will support students in developing advanced research skills in philosophy. Students will develop familiarity and competence with the advanced use of library resources and electronic data bases relevant to philosophy research and will be introduced to the use of reference management programmes. They will discuss basic elements of advance philosohical writing and will be supported throughout the different stages of developing their MA thesis
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Competently use library resources for advanced research in philosohy
- Manage their references by means of electronic reference management programmes
- Competently manage the research and writing of a larger piece of philosophical research (minor dissertation)
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Continuous Assessment (50%)
- Department-based Assessment (50%)
Module Director
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile
- HEIKE SCHMIDT-FELZMANN: Research Profile
Reading List
- "The Research Student's Guide to Success" by Pat Cryer
Publisher: Open University Press - "Your Research Project: A Step by Step Guide for the First Time Researcher, Sage" by NIcholas Walliman
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Required PI6106: Dissertation
PI6106: Dissertation
15 months long | Credits: 30
Each student will write a dissertation of 15,000 words, based on research into a topic to be agreed upon in consultation with a member of staff in Philosophy. Students will submit proposals early in semester two, and will be appointed a supervisor.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Complete a large research project of 15,000 words which might serve as the basis for research at doctoral level
- Understand how to complete long-term research projects
- Complete research projects using standard conventions about citation, bibliography, sources, etc.
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Research (100%)
Module Director
- KAREN M WALSH: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- TSARINA DOYLE: Research Profile
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile
Reading List
- "The Research Student's Guide to Success" by Pat Cryer
Publisher: Open University Press - "Your Research Project: A Step by Step Guide for the First time Research. Sage" by NIcholas Walliman
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Optional PI6102: Political values in the modern world
PI6102: Political values in the modern world
Semester 1 | Credits: 10
This course will look at the ways in which political values interact with the modern world. It will begin with an introduction to central political and ethical theories along with exploration of key distinctions that tend to be relied upon, whether implicitly or explicitly. It will then focus on current issues in political theory, concentrating on themes such as justice, equality, freedom, toleration, and genetics. it will look at how these themes are contested in modern diverse democracies.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- distinguish and understand different political concepts and theories
- distinguish and understand different ethical concepts and theories
- analyse the role of different political and ethical distinctions in practice
- analyse current national and global political issues in the light of 1,2 and 3
- effectively participate in class discussion and present work to peers
- successfully research and write an MA quality essay
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
- KAREN M WALSH: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- RICHARD HULL: Research Profile
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile
Reading List
- "A companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy" by Goodin & Petit (eds),
- "A companion to ethics" by Singer, P. (ed),
- "Contemporary Political Philosophy" by Kymlicka, W.
- "Liberals and communitarians" by Mulhall, S. & Swift A.,
- "Multicultural Citizensip" by Kymlicka, W.,
- "From Chance to Choice" by Buchanan, Brock, Daniels & Wikler,
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Optional PI504.I: Philosophy Seminar: Participation & Management
PI504.I: Philosophy Seminar: Participation & Management
Semester 1 | Credits: 10
This module allows students to do a substantial presentation of their research at discipline level, and to receive training and experience in both chairing seminars and contributing to them.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate an awareness of the fundamentals of philosophical argumentation and analysis
- Organize and schedule seminars for invited speakers
- Formulate and present a piece of argumentation based on independent research
- Evaluate philosophical arguments in the context of peer-review
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
- KAREN M WALSH: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile
- PAUL DAVID CROWTHER: Research Profile
Reading List
- "A rulebook for arguments" by Anthony Weston
ISBN: 0872209547.
Publisher: Hackett Pub. - "Presenting at conferences, seminars, and meetings" by Kerry Shephard
ISBN: 1412903432.
Publisher: London ; SAGE Publications, 2005. - "Essential tips for organizing conferences & events" by Fiona Campbell... [et al.]
ISBN: 0749440392.
Publisher: London ; Kogan Page, 2003.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Optional PI6110: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence
PI6110: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence
Semester 1 | Credits: 10
Artifical intelligence technologies have evolved dramatically in recent years, impacting on many areas of human life. Societal responses to these developments have ranged from enthusiastic optimism to deep suspicion. The module will explore prominent ethical issues arising in relation to the design, use and societal impact of Artificial Intelligence. Topics addressed in the module include Philosophy of Technology, Value Sensitive Design, Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Privacy and consent, Contextual integrity, Transparency and explainable AI, Trust and Trustworthiness, Datafication, Algorithmic surveillance, Algorithmic Bias, Autonomous artificial agents and responsibility, and Human replacement.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and summarise important ethical concerns related to the design, use and societal impact of Artificial Intelligence.
- Apply relevant theoretical models from the ethical, legal and social science literature to identified ethical concerns regarding AI.
- Critically analyse strengths and weaknesses of different positions from the ethical, legal and social science literature on ethical concerns related to the design, use and societal impact of Artifical Intelligence.
- Demonstrate the ability to communicate core insights from divergent perspectives on ethical concerns coherently and concisely.
- Conduct an in depth investigation into an ethical concern regarding AI by analysing and integrating extensive up to date relevant research literature.
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
- HEIKE SCHMIDT-FELZMANN: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- HEIKE SCHMIDT-FELZMANN: Research Profile
Reading List
- "Towards a Code of Ethics for Artificial Intelligence" by Paula Boddington
Publisher: Springer - "Privacy in Context: Technology, Policy, and the Integrity of Social Life" by Helen Nissenbaum
Publisher: Stanford University Press - "Privacy as Trust: Information Privacy for an Information Age" by Ari Waldman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press - "Privacy, Big Data, and the Public Good: Frameworks for Engagement" by Julia Lane, Victoria Stodden, Stefan Bender, Helen Nissenbaum (Editors)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press - "Robot Ethics 2.0: From Autonomous Cars to Artificial Intelligence" by Patrick Lin, Keith Abney, Ryan Jenkins (Editors)
Publisher: Oxford University Press - "Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor" by Virginia Eubanks
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Optional PI6111: Public Philosophy and Civic Education
PI6111: Public Philosophy and Civic Education
Semester 1 | Credits: 10
This module focuses on an educational approach to learning called Philosophy for Children (P4C). P4C is a form of inquiry-based learning that encourages critical thinking through democratic dialogue. It has been used as a tool to promote public philosophy and is informed by John Dewey's commitment to civic education. It is a pedagogy that helps to foster critical, creative, and caring thinking skills amongst all types of learners. Through this internationally-practised pedagogy, groups of learners become ‘communities of inquiry’, tackling philosophical questions they themselves identify and formulate. Through thinking together, these communities learn to challenge assumptions, give reasons, and cultivate their critical thinking skills. The module will provide students with a theoretical introduction to the P4C pedagogy, the opportunity to experience the pedagogy as members of a community of inquiry, and the skills needed to become a P4C facilitator. Students will develop their own facilitation practice by delivering P4C workshops (in pairs) to groups of 3rd, 4th and 5th class students (7-11 year olds) from a primary school located in Galway City
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Articulate the basic tenets of the P4C pedagogy and apply these tenets in a classroom context.
- Reflect systematically on the P4C pedagogy and on their own practice as P4C facilitators.
- Critically assess the role of philosophy in general educational contexts.
- Explore emerging tensions between theory and practice.
- Interrogating the role of public philosophy and civic education.
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Continuous Assessment (60%)
- Department-based Assessment (40%)
Module Director
- Orla Richardson: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile
- Lucy Elvis: Research Profile
Reading List
- "The Routledge International Handbook of Philosophy for Children," by Maughn Rollins Gregory,Joanna Haynes,Karin Murris
ISBN: ISBN: 978113.
Publisher: Routledge
Chapters: All - "In Community of Inquiry with Ann Margaret Sharp, Routledge International Studies in the Philosophy of Education" by Ann Margaret Sharp
ISBN: 978113.
Publisher: Routledge
Chapters: All - "Higher Education and Civic Engagement" by Lorraine McIlrath,Ann Lyons,Ronaldo Munck
ISBN: 9780230340374.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan - "History, Theory and Practice of Philosophy for Children" by Saeed Naji,Rosnani Hashim
ISBN: 9781138631625.
Publisher: Routledge - "The Philosophy of Childhood," by Matthews, Gareth
Publisher: Harvard University Press Harvard - "Thinking in Education" by Lipman, Matthew
Publisher: Cambridge University Press - "Philosophy Goes to School" by Lipman, Matthew
Publisher: Temple University Press - "Philosophy in Schools," by Goering, Sara
Publisher: Routledge - "Democracy and Education" by John Dewey
ISBN: 978193604187.
Publisher: Simon and Brown - "Philosophy in the classroom" by Lipman, Matthew, Ann Margaret Sharp, and Frederick S. Oscanya
Publisher: Temple University Press
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Optional PI6103: Knowledge and Value in Modernity
PI6103: Knowledge and Value in Modernity
Semester 2 | Credits: 10
This module will examine the issues of value and knowledge in the historical context of modernity. Attention will be given to such issues as the character of human subjectivity, the relation between mind and world, objectivity, the status of natural science and human values, and the character of modern culture. A range of modern philosophers will be discussed, including Hume, Kant and Nietzsche. Attention will also be given to the intersections between modern and contemporary arguments
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Discuss the defining features of modernity
- Discuss the role of natural science in modern philosophy
- Examine arguments with regard to the nature of mind and world in modern philosophy
- Discuss arguments with regard to the status of human value in modern philosophy
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Continuous Assessment (50%)
- Department-based Assessment (50%)
Module Director
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- TSARINA DOYLE: Research Profile
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile
Reading List
- "The Nietzsche Reader" by Ansell Pearson, Keith and Large, Duncan (eds)
Publisher: Blackwell - "Hume, David, A Treatise of Human Nature" by Edited by L. A. Selby-Bigge, revised by P.H. Nidditch
Publisher: Clarendon Press - "Kant, Immanuel, Critique of Pure Reason" by Edited by P. Guyer, and A. Wood
Publisher: Cambridge University Press - "The Cambridge Companion to Kant and Modern Philosophy" by Guyer Paul
Publisher: Cambridge University Press - "Projection and Realism in Hume's Philosophy" by Kail, P.J.E
Publisher: Oxford University Press - "Nietzsche and Morality" by Leiter, Brian and Sinhababu
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Optional PI504.II: Philosophy Seminar: Participation & Management
PI504.II: Philosophy Seminar: Participation & Management
Semester 2 | Credits: 10
This module allows students to do a substantial presentation of their research at discipline level, and to receive training and experience in both chairing seminars and contributing to them.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate an awareness of the fundamentals of philosophical argumentation and analysis
- Organize and schedule seminars for invited speakers
- Formulate and present a piece of argumentation based on independent research
- Evaluate philosophical arguments in the context of peer-review
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
- KAREN M WALSH: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile
- PAUL DAVID CROWTHER: Research Profile
Reading List
- "A rulebook for arguments" by Anthony Weston
ISBN: 0872209547.
Publisher: Hackett Pub. - "Presenting at conferences, seminars, and meetings" by Kerry Shephard
ISBN: 1412903432.
Publisher: London ; SAGE Publications, 2005. - "Essential tips for organizing conferences & events" by Fiona Campbell... [et al.]
ISBN: 0749440392.
Publisher: London ; Kogan Page, 2003.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Optional PI6101: The Philosophy of Emotion
PI6101: The Philosophy of Emotion
Semester 2 | Credits: 10
This course will explore emotion and feeling from a phenomenological perspective. Taking account of classical phenomenological texts and contemporary debates, this course will consist in a discussion of the nature of emotion, an analysis of specific emotions and finally an exploration of some broader themes with respect to emotion, specifically with respect to the constitution of the self and the nature personhood.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- The learner should have a good understanding what philosophical issues are raised by the question of emotion
- The learner should be able to evaluate the various accounts of emotion
- The learner should be able to evaluate the importance of emotion with respect to questions of value and knowledge
- The learner should be able to describe and analyze the historical changes in the way in which emotion has been understood and experienced.
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Continuous Assessment (70%)
- Oral, Audio Visual or Practical Assessment (20%)
- Department-based Assessment (10%)
Module Director
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile
- FELIX CONCUBHAIR Ó MURCHADHA: Research Profile
Reading List
- "Thinking about Love" by Enns, D. and Calcagno, A
ISBN: 978-027107096.
Publisher: Penn State University Press - "Analyses concerning Passive Synthesis" by Husserl, E.
ISBN: 978-079237066.
Publisher: Kluwer - "The Nature of Sympathy" by Scheler, Max
ISBN: 978-141280687.
Publisher: Transaction Publishers - "Thinking about Feeling" by Solomon, R
ISBN: 978-019515317.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Chapters: 5, 6, 12 - "Being and Nothingness" by Sartre
ISBN: 978-067186780.
Publisher: Routledge
Chapters: Part 3, Ch. 1 - "On the Problem of Empathy" by Stein, Edith
ISBN: 978-093521611.
Publisher: ICS Pubn
Chapters: 2, 3 - "Moral Emotions" by Steinbock, Anthony
ISBN: 978-081012956.
Publisher: Northwestern UP
Chapters: 2, 5, 7 - "Reason and emotion: essays on ancient moral psychology and ethical theory" by Cooper, J:
ISBN: 978-069105875.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Chapters: esp. Chs 19 & 21 - "From passions to emotions: the creation of a secular psychological category" by Dixon T.:
ISBN: 978-052102669.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press - "The teraphy of desire; theory and practice in Hellenistic ethics" by Nussbaum, M.:
ISBN: 978-069114131.
Publisher: Princeton University Press - "Upheavals of thought: the intelligence of emotions" by Nussbaum, M.:
ISBN: 978-052153182.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Optional SPA442: Phenomenology of Art and Culture
SPA442: Phenomenology of Art and Culture
Semester 2 | Credits: 10
This module is an introduction to the phenomenology of art and culture. The lectures draw from the philosophical tradition that seeks to disclose and understand the formation of meaning as it appears in practice, perception and interpretation. The module introduces the students to the method and style of phenomenology with particular reference to the visual arts and cultures. Phenomenology should not here be understood in the narrow sense of a dogmatic theoretical framework, but rather as a mode of reflection that makes us both become aware of and contribute to the processes involved in meaning formation from different perspectives.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate insightful understanding of phenomenology as method applied to interpreting art and culture
- Identify critical issues of interpretation in relation to art and culture
- Explain rigourously and accurately existing works in the field
- Develop critical thinking and creative ideas
- Research and write a coherent essay with citations on an agreed relevant topic in the field of art and culture
- Actively take part in constructive and critical dialogues
Assessments
This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
- KAREN M WALSH: Research Profile | Email
Lecturers / Tutors
- ANN O'HIGGINS: Research Profile
- GERALD CIPRIANI: Research Profile
Reading List
- "The Continental Aesthetics Reader" by Clive Cazeaux, ed.
Publisher: Routledge - "Phenomenologies of Art and Vision: A Post-Analytic Turn" by Paul Crowther
Publisher: Bloomsbury - "The Bloomsbury Anthology of Aesthetics" by Joseph Tanke & Colin Mc Quillan, Eds.
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Why Choose This Course?
Career Opportunities
Graduates with this qualification will be eligible for doctoral research and careers in the public and social services, NGOs and journalism.
Who’s Suited to This Course
Learning Outcomes
Work Placement
Study Abroad
Related Student Organisations
Course Fees
Fees: EU
Fees: Tuition
Fees: Student levy
Fees: Non EU
Postgraduate students in receipt of a SUSI grant—please note an F4 grant is where SUSI will pay €2,000 towards your tuition. You will be liable for the remainder of the total fee. An F5 grant is where SUSI will pay TUITION up to a maximum of €6,270. SUSI will not cover the student levy of €224.
Postgraduate fee breakdown = tuition (EU or NON EU) + student levy as outlined above.
Find out More
Dr Tsarina Doyle
T: +353 91 495 473
E: tsarina.doyle@nuigalway.ie
Quick Links
- Accommodation Office
- International Students
- Postgraduate Funding - Scholarships
- Student Support and Resources
What Our Students Say

Meghan Hind |
'I wanted an MA programme that combined flexibility with structure. I chose the MA in Values and Knowledge programme at NUI, Galway for the breadth of perspectives and topics offered in modules, its focus on research and presentation skills, and its philosophically rigorous questioning of the very concepts and structures that inform, surround, and even create our experiences of life. Not only has this MA programme met and exceeded my initial expectations, the sense of community among faculty and students, the participatory and engaging teaching styles of the professors, and the attention paid to the interests and needs of every individual student have made the programme a truly enriching and engaging experience. I wholeheartedly recommend it.' (Meghan Hind, US Mitchell Scholar on the MA in Philosophy (Values and Knowledge) programme)

Sean Comer |
I chose to study philosophy at NUI, Galway after considerable time and research. I wanted a university that focused as much on my educational and career path as I do. There is no question, the quality of the university and the appeal of the city were also factors. Galway, recently voted the best overall micro city in Europe by the Financial Times, is a student friendly, vibrant and lively city. I feel that the MA is unique in the way it encourages the student to examine and question contemporary philosophical concepts of values and knowledge. The range of optional modules allowed me to focus on subjects I had a direct interest in, while the core modules encourage you to develop skills in research and philosophical writing. The Philosophy Seminar: Participation and Management module in particular, gives an opportunity to research, write and present a paper to the philosophy department. This peer review process is invaluable in developing presentation expertise, which is vital for further academic study and useful in the world of work. I am delighted I chose to study Philosophy at NUI, Galway.