Philosophy
Department Handbook
Section A: Introduction
A Welcome to New Students | To Returning Students | The Purpose of this Handbook | Information about the Department
A Welcome to New Students
Welcome to Philosophy at the University of Stirling. The Handbook that follows will be an important source of information throughout your study. You will need to consult it regularly to find out how the Division works and what is expected of you. But we hope you will find time to read through the less formal parts of the Handbook, and to benefit from the range of advice it contains.
Most of you will have come directly from school or from school and a gap year. You may have found that at school almost everything was mapped out for you. You may also have been given step-by-step instructions on how to complete your assignments. At university, things are different. You may have fewer assignments than at school and fewer teaching contact hours. While you will receive detailed guidance and advice on how to approach what you study, much of your learning will depend on you and especially on your initiative and motivation. If you are to progress well you will have to be self-motivated and make good use of the hours in the week when you are not in classes.
Some of you will have been away from formal education for a number of years— perhaps many years. You may be wondering how you will manage with bright young things around you. Do not be daunted! There will be many others in the same boat and your experience may well be of help to you in approaching study, for instance, in helping you to manage your time well and in coping with the pressures of University life.
Whatever your background, and whatever your intended degree programme, try not to think of your philosophical study as an onerous task that needs to be completed in order to receive a nice reward at the end. Try to think of it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to devote your time and energies to exploring, discussing, appraising and learning from the writings of interesting, challenging and sometimes profound thinkers. It will not always be easy – indeed, it will sometimes be very hard. But, if you put in the effort, the possibilities for developing and indeed expanding your mind are great indeed.
Good luck from the staff in Philosophy!
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To Returning Students: Welcome Back!
We hope you have enjoyed the philosophy you studied with us so far, and that you will be looking forward to the interest, as well as the challenges, of further work in the subject. Some of what the Handbook contains will be already familiar to you, but please don’t assume you know everything! As you progress through your degree programme, new information becomes relevant: for instance, few students in first year are too concerned with the details of Honours degree classifications. But the Handbook contains much more than this kind of formal information, and we hope that you will consult it to make use of the advice it contains on improving your work and making the best of your experience as a student of Philosophy.
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The purpose of this Handbook
The Student Handbook contains lots of useful information about Philosophy at Stirling—who we are, what courses we teach, how we teach them, and how they can benefit you. You will find information not only about the formal life of the department (lectures, courses, seminars and so on) but also about its informal life as well—including information about the student-run Philosophy Society (which offers proof that a philosophical education at university level need not be confined to lectures and seminars). You will also find a host of handy hints on writing philosophy essays—how to structure a good essay, how you should present your essays, and—perhaps most importantly—how they are marked, and what the various marks mean. For those of you that are just starting out in the subject, you will find some discussion of what more is required of an essay at university-level compared to school level. For those of you are returning to further work in philosophy, there is advice on how to study more effectively and to improve your work. Finally, you will find information on the rules and regulations to which all philosophy students are subject—how many lectures and seminars you have to attend, when you have to hand your essays in, and so on.
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Information about the Division of Philosophy
The Department is situated in Pathfoot Building. The full address is:
Department of Philosophy University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA |
|
Telephone International Telephone Fax International Fax |
01786 468555 +44 1786 467555 01786 466233 +44 1786 466233 |
The Department Office and Its Staff
The Office is in Pathfoot room A73. The members of staff in the Office are:
Alison Cooper School Administrator Law and Philosophy |
ext. 7550 |
Lesley McIntosh Law Administrator |
ext. 7354 |
Nikki Leavitt Administrative Assistant |
ext. 7555 |
Academic Staff
| Dr Steinvör Thöll Árnadóttir | Room A69 |
| Dr Rowan Cruft | Room A80 |
| Professor Antony Duff | Room A79 |
| Dr Philip Ebert | Room A84 |
| Dr Adrian Haddock | Room A76 |
| Dr Simon Hope | Room A88 |
| Dr Colin Johnston | Room A82 |
| Dr Ambrose Lee | Room A2 |
| Professor Sandra Marshall | Room A79 |
| Professor Peter Milne | Room A75 |
| Professor Alan Millar | Room A79 |
| Dr Simon Robertson | Room A90 |
| Dr Sonia Roca Royes | Room A74 |
| Professor Peter Sullivan | Room A77 |
| Professor Michael Wheeler | Room A78 |
Advisory Team
The Department has a team of advisers, with designated members being primarily responsible for advising students in different year groups. The advisory team in Philosophy comprises:
Dr Simon Hope |
Advisers to First Year and Second Year students |
| Dr Adrian Haddock | Adviser to Third and Fourth Year students |
| Professor Peter Milne | Senior Adviser |
When contacting an adviser by e-mail, please ensure that you include your name and registration number in the message title. (In the event that the designated adviser is unavailable, cover will be provided by another member of the team.)
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