This is the version of the PPE Senior Seminar that is not co-taught. Professor Brown was on leave this year, so it was just me. The aim of the seminar is always to bring together scholarship from philosophy, politics and economics to study the philosophical underpinnings and social institutions of contemporary American society and the world in which it operates. Working across disciplinary boundaries, we examine scholarship that seeks to describe the liberties, freedoms and safeguards that promote human flourishing and that looks carefully at the roles played by market economies and political institutions in the construction of contemporary society.
This year, since we had a small group, we were able to spend a lot of time preparing to write the senior thesis in the spring. Concrete work on the thesis was required at regular intervals throughout the term and the final project was a thesis prospectus. We split our time between sessions on individual projects and those devoted to synthesizing work in the three disciplines of philosophy, politics, and economics. Specifically, we brought the work of economists, philosophers, and political scientists to bear on the relationship between war and punishment, inequality, reparations for historic injustices, and so-called repugnant markets for human organs.
The syllabus (PDF) has a schedule of topics for discussion, readings, and assignments; it also describes the standards for grades and other policies for the class. Registered students can find all other materials on Sakai.
Michael Green, Grant, Xiaoyu, Chrisi, Amelia, Maria
My office is Pearsons 207. For Fall 2015, my office hours are Fridays, 10-11:30.
My email address and office phone number are available from the Pomona College directory: select Faculty/Staff and enter my name.
My home page has links to websites for my other courses.