PHIL 243 Social and Political Philosophy I, offered in the Fall semester, and PHIL 244 Social and Political Philosophy II, offered in the Spring semester, are both inter-departmental courses initiated by the Philosophy Department at Bilkent. Philosophy (PHIL) instructors are responsible for three hours and Faculty Academic English Program (FAEP) instructors for another three hours, making six credit hours per semester per course.
These courses are based on classic texts in the history of philosophy, starting from the ancients of the Greek world, through to the contemporary of the early modern period at the turn of the twentieth century. The course is equally divided into Philosophy and English Language parts. While both parts of the course focus on the same set of texts, the emphasis and assessment criteria for each are different. The Philosophy part places more emphasis on evaluating the ideas and arguments expressed by each philosopher. The English part will place more emphasis on developing the ability to read, interpret and engage with, via critical thought; these challenging texts, as well as eliciting an ability to communicate verbally and in writing in a notably academic manner. Thus, the English part uses the original texts to further develop the broader multiple-skills facilitating goals achieved during first year English courses. In this partnership, set texts are determined by the philosophy department. However, the FAEP instructors liaise with the Philosophy instructors concerning focus on certain chapters, themes, and issues and a tandem course schedule is produced.
At the end of the course, English and Philosophy department grades are averaged to produce one letter grade for the student. If a student fails either the English or Philosophy component of the course, then he or she will fail the whole six-credit course.