Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL3001: Phenomenology

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the place of phenomenology in the history of philosophy. Furthermore, the module aims to critically explore and investigate the challenges associated with the practice and method of phenomenology and how phenomenology sits in relation to other leading philosophical schools of thought such as metaphyscis, existentialism, naturalism and empiricism. In addition, the module aims to encourage you to be able to reflect phenomenologically about your own lived expeirence and to explore the contemporary relevance of the phenomenolgical approach to a variety of topics and disciplines.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Identify and cogently discuss the key methods, questions, themes and topics within the phenomenological tradition and be able to critically compare this approach with other philosophical methods and traditions. 2. Critically distinguish and evaluate various approaches to phenomenology, and related critiques, within the 20th century with emphasis on approaches such as applied phenomenology, feminist phenomenology and the phenomenological methods of the social sciences.
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. Demonstrate a high level of understanding of the interrelation between theories, values and lived experience, with particular focus on embodiment, perception and cognition. 4. Engage in in-depth study of a text through detailed reading and analysis
Personal and Key Skills	5. Demonstrate a significantly expanded philosophical vocabulary and understanding with respect to key ideas in twentieth century European philosophy and how this relates to philosophical approaches arising from the Anglo-Analytic tradition 6. Conduct research independently engaging with complex ideas and problems while developing original research insights. 7. Engage in complex and high level argumentation both orally and through writing.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Introduction to Phenomenology & Franz Brentano and his Influence on Edmund Husserl
Edmund Husserl – Phenomenology and the Phenomenological Method
Edmund Husserl – Intentionality & Transcendental Phenomenology
Edmund Husserl – Internal Time Consciousness, the Crisis & the Lifeworld
Edith Stein – The Other and Empathy
Martin Heidegger – Hermeneutics, Phenomenology and Being and Time
Jean-Paul Sartre – The Body, the Look and the Other
Simone de Beauvoir – Feminist Phenomenology and The Second Sex
Maurice Merleau-Ponty – Existential Phenomenology and the Phenomenology of Perception
Maurice Merleau-Ponty – Embodied Subjectivity and a Phenomenology of Embodiment
Emmanuel Levinas – Phenomenological Ethics

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	16.5	11 x 1.5 hour lectures. Lectures provide you with detailed overview and analysis of key thinkers and texts in the phenomenological tradition; lectures cover more ground than is possible in tutorials, and are designed to establish a context in which to think about the themes, thinkers and texts discussed in tutorials.
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	5	5 x 1 Hour Fortnightly tutorials. A specific reading is assigned, and you are provided with a list of key issues to identify and discuss for each tutorial. Texts are carefully chosen as classic exemplars of the core course themes.
Guided Independent Study	45	Preparation for lectures and tutorial participation including reading and planning.
Guided independent study	83.5	Independent research for glossary entry and essay.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).