Teaching Firefly

Teaching Firefly

James Rocha

Fresno State

Keywords: Teaching Science Fiction, Libertarianism, Feminist Ethics

Abstract

Philosophers often rely on their own examples and intuitions, which can be problematic since philosophers are a small group with their own set of biases and limitations. Science fiction can assist with this problem through the provision of examples that are both designed by non-philosophers and intended to be thought-provoking and plausible. In particular, when philosophers teach, we can use science fiction for examples that raise relevant issues in interesting contexts, while also being fully fleshed out. In this paper, I explain how I use Joss Whedon’s Firefly to teach political philosophy, ethics, and existentialism. I hope to show the usefulness of good science fiction for the purpose of teaching philosophy in new and engaging ways.

Published: 2018-06-03

Teaching Firefly: Companion Material. A Class Schedule for a Course on Joss Whedon and Philosophy

Keywords: teaching, Firefly, Joss Whedon, schedule, Angel

This schedule, provided as a companion to my “Teaching Firefly” article, was used for a sophomore level philosophy course that was populated mostly by non-majors. The original idea for the course was to develop a popular culture philosophy course that would attract students from all over campus, which was meant to both introduce them to multiple philosophical ideas and theories and hopefully convince some of them to major or minor in philosophy. The course was quite successful at drawing Whedon fans from across the university (after a certain amount of advertising through posters and social media). Students were very engaged with both discussions of episodes and the readings.

Published: 2018-06-03