Abstract
Martin Heidegger has served as a major influence on my own thinking and research. I would argue that Heidegger taught me how to think, that is, his work taught me how to ask deeper questions, to be methodical when laying out arguments, and to truly examine philosophical statements and theories from all angles, tracing arguments as far back as needed. It is this influence that has inspired me to share Heidegger’s work with my own students so that they may accumulate the same benefits and become better thinkers. My students are undergraduates, primarily first-generation students, who take philosophy courses as electives. Yet these non-philosophy major students find value in my work on Heidegger. They find meaning in reading and discussing this work, making connections to other thinkers, and to popular culture. In this paper, I focus on using Heidegger to further develop critical thinking skills with non-philosophy major undergraduate students. First, I discuss how I incorporate my own research, which focuses on popular culture to understand some of Heidegger’s concepts. Particularly, I will focus on my work that uses both the figures of Achilleus (from The Iliad) and Harry Potter to help students understand the concept of authenticity. This discussion allows students to access Heidegger through avenues they can relate to and engage in deeper philosophical thinking. My different classroom experiences with non-philosophy majors still allows for students to encounter and interact with philosophy in such a meaningful way that enriches their critical thinking skills.
Presenters
Nicole JowseyAssistant Professor of Philosophy and Chair, Interdisciplinary Studies, Medaille University, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Learner Diversity and Identities
KEYWORDS
First-generation students, Philosophy
