Julie Tannenbaum –Teaching Statement 2004-05
Assistant Professor of Philosophy

One of the more surprising lessons I have learned since coming to Santa Cruz is that if the conditions are right, not only can I enhance students’ critical thinking skills, but the students will rise to philosophical challenges with creative and sophisticated insights. This is rewarding both as a teacher and as a philosopher, since my goal is that we should do philosophy together and not just read about the history of ideas. My students are not too young to have faced, already, serious moral challenges in the guise of racial, culture, and sexual clashes. In addition some face the difficulty of caring for an ill parent or deciding whether to join the armed forces. I teach a wide array of courses in moral philosophy, from the abstract (what is the ultimate justification for moral obligations?), to the textual (how is Kant’s formula of humanity related to his formula of universal law?) to the concrete (is torture of Iraqis justified?). The challenge I have faced is connecting the philosophy they read, which is often abstract and employs formal methods of reasoning, with the moral difficulties they have already and will continue to face, so that they can do philosophy in a way that will inform how they live after the class is over.

The main obstacle to doing philosophy is fear. It is somewhat frightening to expose one’s beliefs to critical reflection, especially in a public context like the classroom. It takes courage, honesty, and confidence to be a fully reflective person. The question is how to create an atmosphere that counteracts the fear and so allows students to follow their natural tendencies to reflect and question. One step has been to remind myself what a struggle it can be to uncover and confront my own beliefs and commitments. In my research I spend quite a bit of time arguing for what I believe, and so it is easy to overlook the prior process of discovering my beliefs. This discovery is one of the more exciting aspects of philosophy—to read or hear something and suddenly discover I have an opinion of my own! And so I encourage the excitement my students feel when they discover that they disagree with a particular claim, or that they agree but for different reasons, or that they agree and have finally had their suspicions confirmed.

I have also found it highly effective to make sure that the students do not feel alone during their philosophical exploration. I try to emphasize that philosophy is a shared activity. This takes different forms depending on the size and structure of the class. In a graduate class, if a student shows signs of defeat when critically questioned by a classmate or by me, I point out which famous and well-respected philosopher held a similar view and how that philosopher handled similar objections. The student, upon realizing that an eminent philosopher held a similar position, is emboldened to persevere in reflective enquiry, as well as motivated to do extra reading thereby increasing her knowledge base. In a large introductory lecture course, emphasizing philosophy as a shared activity has been more challenging. With up to a hundred and fifty students, combating isolation and apathy is especially important. I have found small group assignments invaluable. I require students to meet with two or three students from the class to discuss the readings, aided by a handout with questions that structure their discussion. They follow up this group work with a writing assignment that counts towards a fraction of their grade. Most recently the group work in my contemporary moral issues focused on news stories related to the main topics in the course (euthanasia, abortion, torture, and war). The group decided on a news story and presented it to the entire class for discussion—giving the whole class an opportunity to apply and even move beyond the conceptual distinctions introduced in the readings and lectures. The small groups had fun working with and learning from one another. Moreover, the group work lessens students' fear of asking questions and making comments in class because they already know and feel comfortable with one another. Suddenly students were voluntarily bringing in news stories for discussion and students in the back most reaches of the classroom produced ingenious analogies to explore the moral principles under discussion. It was one of my most rewarding classroom experiences thus far.

I want to mention one last factor that has helped me create a feeling of security in the classroom. I pick topics about which I have not yet made up my mind. It is much easier to be in tune with one’s students if one is going through a similar process. I cannot be dogmatic if I haven’t yet made up my own mind. And they needn’t worry about disagreeing with me, since I don’t yet have a settled position. Also, I am more likely to be excited about the material, and to enjoy thinking and talking about it, if I am learning from it. Excitement is usually infectious. Lastly, if they can see that even I, who have been working at philosophy much longer than they have, have concerns and questions, which I articulate and walk them through, then the philosophical process is demystified and less intimidating.

My hope is that the content and method of my classes have an impact beyond the classroom. I can most definitely say that my students have had a lasting impact on my philosophical and pedagogical activities.