Philosophy,
Interpretation, and Culture
Program
Organization
Interdisciplinary
Resources
PIC Center
PIC Conference
PIC MA Program
Admission
PhD
Requirements and Procedures
Financial Aid
University Bulletin
Further Information
Philosophy,
Interpretation, and Culture (PIC)
Binghamton University's interdisciplinary studies in
Philosophy, Interpretation, and Culture address the ways in which
cultural forms of knowledge and expression shape and are shaped by
human practices and experience. Of particular importance are recent
developments in history, theory, and practice that promise to stretch
the boundaries of philosophy and transform the discipline and the
university: post-critical continental philosophy; coloniality critique,
postcolonial theory, and philosophy of colonialism; feminist
philosophy; gay, lesbian, and queer studies; multicultural studies and
critical race theory; critical social theory; and cultural critique,
including aesthetic, representational, and ecological practices.
A major concern of the program is with history and
tradition, with how they are to be thought and how they contribute to
thought. The history of philosophy along with other histories in
Western and nonWestern traditions--of art and literature, political and
social theory, philosophy of history and science, and theories of
gender, ethnicity, culture, and class--are at work in these critical
discussions.
The program explores relations between philosophy and
other disciplines and critically examines disciplinary boundaries,
historical and institutional. It seeks to foster discussions not
confined by disciplinary boundaries concerning intelligibility,
legitimacy, and disciplinariness.
Among the developments important to the PIC program is
the recurrent claim that the Western tradition--philosophic,
scientific, artistic, ethical and political, cultural, humanistic, and
so forth--has in profound respects come to an end. While some forms of
this question appear throughout modernity, recent postmodern,
postcolonial, and ecological discussions taking up this question claim
that a more radical transformation of thinking is demanded by any
possible answer.
The PIC program takes such claims seriously,
confronting a number of important questions:
To what extent can such a question be regarded as
intelligible and important? To what extent can the Western or any
tradition be regarded as unitary? To what extent can any of that
tradition's major forms be said to have reached fruition or exhaustion?
To what extent do traditional discourses retain their legitimacy? What
sense can be made of the claim that philosophy is to be replaced by
science or, conversely, that the authority of science is the natural
culmination of the Western tradition?
How do concerns with nature and the environment bear
upon the understanding of humanity and human practices? How do
contemporary global developments relate to movements critical of
humanism and anthropocentrism? What kinds of ethical, political, and
policy practices pertain to these issues?
How do concerns with gender and race, colonialism and
culture, bear upon relations to the Western canon and the need to
supplement or discard it? How do issues of oppression and injustice
bear upon challenges to Western rationality from within and without? In
what ways does feminist theory interact with the history of Western
philosophy and with postmodern and postcolonial studies? What
challenges have emerged from world-wide developments in feminism to
much of contemporary philosophy, social theory, and literary theory?
What kinds of responses are emerging from recent writings on
aesthetics, colonization and decolonization, hybridity and cultural
survival, to the claims that Western philosophy is Eurocentric? What
are the implications of global developments--economic, political, and
cultural--for philosophy's future?
To what extent can a discourse that recognizes its own
historicality speak of its future, especially if that future promises
major changes and variations?
To what extent is every voice, every form of reason,
expression, and language, entangled with desire and power? To what
extent can a discourse or discipline claim legitimacy if every human
voice is both subject to and an object of desire--that is, composes a
site where human ends are implemented? To what extent can a discourse
or discipline claim legitimacy if every human voice is both manipulated
by power and a site where power is exercised?
What kinds of voices, what kinds of writings, what
changes in disciplinary and other practices are called for, are
possible, in response to such critical reflections?
These questions are approached from a variety of
disciplinary and critical perspectives.
Program
Organization
PIC is a unique autonomous interdisciplinary program
leading
to MA and PhD degrees in philosophy. It is independent of the
Department of Philosophy, though members of that department are members
of the PIC faculty and serve on student committees. Currently 60-70
students are enrolled in PIC; 5-10 PhD degrees are granted each year.
Interdisciplinary
Resources
PIC faculty are drawn from many different departments
and programs throughout the university, especially in the humanities
and social sciences, many of which themselves have strong
interdisciplinary interests--in particular: Africana Studies, Art
History, Comparative Literature, English, General Literature, and
Rhetoric, History, Philosophy, Sociology; Asian and Asian American
Studies, Environomental Studies, the Fernand Braudel Center for the
Study of Economies, Historical Systems, and Civilizations, the
Institute for Global Cultural Studies (IGCS), the Program in Latin
American and Caribbean Area Studies (LACAS), the interdisciplinary
program in Comparative Literature in Philosophy, Literature, and the
Theory of Criticism (PLC), the Translation Research and Instruction
Program (TRIP), and Women's Studies.
PIC Center (CPIC)
PIC is associated with a research center for
interdisciplinary studies in Philosophy, Interpretation, and Culture in
which faculty from Binghamton and elsewhere, members of community
organizations, Binghamton University graduate students, and PIC
graduates pursue ongoing collaborative projects. Clik here
for the CPIC
Website.
PIC Conference
Now in its seventeenth year, the PIC Conference brings
participants from around the world to campus every April. PIC students
and faculty also participate in the Conference. Click here
for the PIC
Conference listings.
PIC MA Program
The PIC MA program emphasizes contemporary discussions
in interpretation and culture in relation to the history and subfields
of philosophy, emphasizing emergent and nontraditional subfields and
historical approaches. It is designed as preparation for advanced work
in the PIC PhD program.
Requirements
A minimum of seven courses (28 credits) with a
cumulative
average of not less than B. There are no specific course requirements,
but no more than 4 independent study courses can be counted toward the
MA degree.
Satisfactory performance on a comprehensive
examination administered after the student's third semester of
full-time residence, typically during January of each year.
Demonstration of the ability to read scholarly works
in a foreign language.
Either:
a. Submission of a thesis deemed acceptable by the
student's
advisory committee (this includes registering for at least two credit
hours of PHIL 599: Thesis) or:
b. Completion of a nonthesis option consisting of
three graduate courses in addition to those described above.
Admission
Qualified students holding a bachelor's degree are
eligible for admission to the PIC MA program. A broad interdisciplinary
background is considered a desirable preparation. Students who lack
sufficient preparation for graduate study may be required to complete
work beyond the minimum required for the MA degree.
Applicants are expected to submit a short essay
including a
detailed statement of purpose expressing their interdisciplinary
interests and background and their goals in relation to study in the
PIC program, explaining how the program can help fulfill those goals.
This essay should be submitted in place of the writing sample. It is a
very important part of the admission process.
The application deadline, including applications from
international students, is February 15th.
For new applicants who may be eligible to become Clark
Fellows, please check for further information:
Clifford D. Clark Graduate Fellowship Program
for Diversity
PIC PhD
Requirements and Procedures
The minimum number of course credits required for the
PhD
degree is 56 (32 for students holding an MA degree from another
institution) plus the appropriate number of dissertation credits
required by the Graduate School. There are no specific course
requirements, however the following restrictions apply:
All courses accepted for credit toward the degree must
be
approved by the student's advisor. Depending on background and
specialization, students may be required to complete additional courses
beyond the minimum.
Students entering with a BA are expected to take at
least
one course with each of three different members of the program faculty.
Students entering with an MA are expected to take at least one course
with each of two different members of the program faculty.
No more than 6 independent study courses for students
entering with a BA, or 4 independent study courses for students
entering with an MA, can be counted toward the PhD degree.
Admission
Students admitted with a BA are required to pass an MA
comprehensive/PhD qualifying examination before admission to the PhD
program.
Students holding an MA degree from another institution
at
the time they enroll at Binghamton are required to prepare a proposed
plan of study and undergo a formal review during their second semester
of enrollment.
Each individual student committee reserves the right
to
impose special conditions that it considers appropriate, including
remedial courses.
See the admission requirements listed under the PIC MA
program.
For new applicants who may be eligible to become Clark
Fellows, please check for further information:
Clifford D. Clark Graduate Fellowship Program
for Diversity
Student
Committees
Student advisory, examination, and dissertation
committees are appointed at the initiation of the student. All
committees are required to include at least two members of the PIC
faculty.
MA
Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Examination
The MA comprehensive/PhD qualifying examination is
composed of a four-hour written or overnight take-home examination,
based on an individualized reading list for each student, and a
ninety-minute oral examination emphasizing contemporary areas of the
student's specialization. The examination is scheduled at the beginning
of the Spring semester each year.
PhD Examination
Either a PhD comprehensive examination or oral
examination based on an approved field paper must be satisfactorily
completed before admission to candidacy, as follows:
a. The PhD comprehensive examination consists of five
parts, four written parts, three hours each, one two-hour oral
examination.
b. The field paper consists of a 40-60 page paper plus
an extensive bibliography defining the student's area(s) of
specialization, broadly conceived, with relevant background material. A
two-hour oral examination is scheduled based on the student's field
paper and proposed area(s) of specialization.
Dissertation
Students are required to write a dissertation under
the direction of a committee composed of at least three members
including at least two from the PIC faculty. Other faculty may also
serve on the student's dissertation committee, and the director need
not be a member of the PIC faculty. The student is expected to present
the dissertation at a public oral examination.
Other
Requirements
Students must demonstrate proficiency in two languages
other
than English; these may include languages without a written component.
Advising
Students admitted to the PIC program are supervised by
the
PIC director and faculty. Upon entry, every student is assigned an
adviser from the program faculty. This adviser serves until the student
selects an advisory committee at which point the committee chair takes
on responsibility for advising the student. This takes place during the
second semester for students entering with an MA, during the third
semester for students entering with a BA. For advisers who are not PIC
program faculty, students are responsible for providing program
information and for arranging scheduling as needed, with the assistance
of the PIC office and director. The performance of each student is
evaluated each Spring by the student's advisory committee.
After a student has passed the PhD comprehensive
examinations, a three-person advisory/dissertation committee is
appointed at the initiation of the student in consultation with the
student's advisory committee. Additional members of the committee may
be appointed where desirable. Members of advisory and dissertation
committees may be appointed from other departments and schools, where
appropriate.
PIC Faculty
PIC is composed of program faculty who are formally
assigned to PIC, and a faculty who work with students. PIC students are
consulted on all matters except those that involve individual students
and faculty.
Placement
Workshops and individualized advising in connection
with placement are held each Fall in time for directed placement
activities.
Financial Aid
Fellowships, graduate assistantships, and teaching
assistantships are available to qualified students.
University Bulletin
and Catalog
The procedures of the Graduate School are described in
the University Bulletin and Catalog.
Copies of the Bulletin and Catalog
and application forms may be obtained on line or from the Office of
Graduate Admissions, Binghamton University, P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton,
NY 13902-6000. The on line procedure is preferred by the Graduate
School and is less expensive.
Further
Information
For further information, please write to:
Joshua Price
Director of Graduate Studies, PIC
Binghamton University
P.O. Box 6000
Binghamton, NY 13902-6000 USA
E-mail
pic@binghamton.edu
dcanfiel@binghamton.edu
