Prospectus Seminar

3 units

The main goal of this seminar is to guide students as they write their dissertation prospectus, culminating in a prospectus that is ready to defend. A dissertation prospectus for a PhD in Philosophy or PNP introduces an issue, situates it within the existing literature, explains why the issue is significant and describes concretely how one aims to advance our understanding of the issue through one’s dissertation. We will approach this process in stages. At each stage, students will write and revise drafts in response to instructor and peer feedback. Students will first work on how to introduce the issue they plan to address in the dissertation, situating it broadly within the existing literature. A successful introduction to an issue does not merely describe the problem, it motivates it and does so in the writer’s own distinctive voice. It uses clear and jargon-free language, well-chosen examples, data or illustrations, and demonstrates (rather than merely asserting) the interest and significance of the issue. Next, students add to their draft by giving an account of the competing positions and arguments concerning the issue in the background literature, both at a general level and in more detail. At the third stage, students will make clear how they aim to advance our understanding of the issue. At this stage, students must state, explain and give a preliminary defense of a main thesis, in addition to stating concrete goals for further research. In the last few weeks of the course, we will hold practice prospectus defenses for each student. We will invite a guest faculty member to attend, but not the student’s primary research advisor. Along the way, students will read and discuss two books on writing, Jean Bolker’s Write Your Dissertation in 15 minutes a Day and William Germano’s On Revision: The Only Writing that Counts. Early in the course students will also read and discuss successful defended past prospectuses. They will also gain insight from senior graduate students and faculty invited to discuss their prospectus experiences with the class