Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
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2017 - 2018 Programme

Key learning outcomes

I. To acquire a wide spectrum of practical academic skills and expertise including in an interdisciplinary perspective

At the end of the Programme students will have acquired:

• A wide range of inter-disciplinary expertise by reaching out other disciplines and exploring the connections between them.

In particular, students will have acquired:

  • A grounding in the fundamentals of the human and social sciences (principal theories, vocabulary and methods as well as the objectives, challenges and stakes of the discipline).
  • The ability to construct an interdisciplinary dialogue between the different human and social sciences and to examine their relationship with philosophy on the theoretical level.

All the general and optional courses in the human sciences: Ex : Critique des sources d'information, Littératures européennes comparées, Linguistique générale, Histoire des sociétés européennes, Sociologie (bloc 1) ; Histoire de l'art du moyen âge à nos jours, Psychologie, Religions d'occident (judaïsme, christianisme, islam) et société (bloc 2) ; Droit naturel (bloc 3)

• Expertise in areas that are complementary to philosophy.

The Programme will give students:

  • In-depth expertise in one or several supplementary disciplines by following one or more minors. It offers an opportunity to study other disciplines through the lens of philosophy.

All the courses in the chosen minor (proposed minors: Anglais, Littérature, Histoire, Sciences politiques, and courses chosen in an other dual-degree programme).

II. To acquire practical academic skills in a range of specialised fields of philosophy

At the end of the Programme students will have acquired:

• A grounding in different specialised fields of philosophy and an understanding the objectives, challenges and stakes of the discipline.

  • This will cover:

The major disciplines underpinning philosophy (principal theories & concepts, vocabulary, methods, objectives, challenges and stakes) and their practice.

All the thematic courses on the major disciplines of philosophy: Ex: Philosophie morale, Métaphysique (Bloc 1) ; Philosophie de la culture et de l'histoire, Phénoménologie, Anthropologie philosophique, Epistémologie des sciences humaines (Bloc 2) ; Philosophie de l'art et de la littérature, Philosophie politique, Ethique, Logique, Philosophie du langage (Bloc 3)

  • The principle fields of inquiry and key authors across the history of philosophy. Students are introduced to the practice of philosophy, its methods, objectives, challenges and stakes.

All history of philosophy courses. Ex : Histoire de la philosophie de l’Antiquité, Histoire de la philosophie moderne, Histoire de la philosophie médiévale (Bloc 2) ; Philosophie contemporaine (Bloc 3)

• Expertise in the methods of critical text analysis and their application to works of philosophy

The programme will develop students’ ability to:

  • situate a philosophical work in its field of inquiry & historical context
  • produce a personal commentary on a philosophical text
  • draw on a text to construct a philosophical line of reasoning

Séminaire de lecture de textes philosophiques (Bloc 1) ; Séminaire d’histoire de la philosophie de l’antiquité, Séminaire d’histoire de la philosophie moderne (Bloc 2) ; Séminaire d’esthétique, Séminaire de philosophie contemporaine (Bloc 3)

• The skills to undertake personal research on a question of philosophy, including the proper and effective use of the discipline’s specific research resources and working methods

In particular the programme will develop students’ ability to:

  • engage in a personal dialogue with the philosophical tradition;
  • knowledge and ability to use the principal bibliographical resources in the different disciplines of philosophy;
  • construct a research question (defend a personal philosophical interpretation) and support it using appropriate methodology in a piece of personal work of up to 50 pages (in a preparation for the Master’s dissertation);
  • summarise the current scholarly state of investigation on a philosophical issue;
  • follow the instructions for a significant piece of work (including respecting deadlines) and an ability to discuss and interact constructively with a supervisor.

Méthodologie de la philosophie et exercices, Séminaire de lecture de textes philosophiques (Bloc 1) ; séminaires associés aux cours d’histoire de la philosophie (Bloc 2 et 3 ; voir ci-dessus) ; Travail de fin de cycle (10 crédits)

III. To acquire a grounding in the scientific method (‘transferable skills’)

At the end of the Programme students will have acquired:

Critical thinking and scientific reasoning skills

The programme will develop students’ ability to:

  • undertake scientific inquiry according to the scientific method and critically examine any type of information or document;
  • construct clear and sophisticated reasoned argumentation using philosophical terminology, put a question in its theoretical context, establish a hypothesis and verify it.

All Philosophy BA courses.

• Expertise in the analytical methods for understanding complex reasoning as well as academic reasoning and communication skills

The programme will develop students’ ability to:

  • analyse, synthesise and identify the objectives, important ideas and issues raised in/by any complex text or piece of reasoning;
  • take a personal position in a debate about ideas and to construct reasoning to defend it, including vis-à-vis those who do not share its assumptions.

All Philosophy BA courses

IV. To develop high-level written and oral communication skills (‘transferable skills’)

At the end of the Programme students will have acquired:

• A grounding in the norms of scientific communication as well as referencing and publication norms

The programme will develop students’ ability to:

  • produce a piece of academic work in accordance with the norms and ethics of academic writing (bibliographical references, use of quotations, notes, etc.);
  • use the different formats of academic communication used to convey a research finding (oral presentation, written dissertation, text analysis, commentary, review, etc.).

Méthodologie de la philosophie et exercices (Bloc 1)

• Communication skills in at least one language other than French

This component of the programme will improve students’:

  • oral and written skills in at least one modern language other than French;
  • comprehension of a written text in at least one ancient or modern language other than French;
  • comprehension of basic academic vocabulary in at least one language other than French.

Students may choose between the following languages (bloc 2): Traduction et explication de textes latins, Initiation à la langue latine, Initiation à la langue grecque, Latin médiéval et moderne, Espagnol, Italien I, Allemand, Néerlandais, Anglais : histoire de la littérature et analyse de textes I

180 credits