Ask the Big Questions and Make a Difference
With us, the "why" questions are always welcome. Respectful, vibrant conversations are the norm. Making a positive difference is the goal. Our thought-provoking classes and other activities stretch the imagination and challenge the intellect. Our faculty work to support students to succeed at Webster and to flourish throughout their lives.
About the Philosophy Department
The Philosophy Department offers students numerous opportunities for high-impact experiences, including study abroad, undergraduate research, collaborative projects, common learning experiences and more. We collaborate closely with partners in Student Affairs, Emerson Library and the Career Planning and Development Center to help prepare students for active lives doing things they love, do well and that make positive difference in the world.
Philosophy Department Mission: We cultivate habits of thinking critically and communicating effectively about significant matters to help people live more attentive, responsive, creative and meaningful lives.
Annual Philosophy Conference
For more than 15 years, philosophy students have planned and executed the annual Philosophy Conference. In addition to having a guest speaker, the conference provides students from Webster and other colleges to present their philosophical work to an interested audience of faculty and students.
Undergraduate Major and Minor
Students with a major in philosophy select: art and creativity; ethics and social justice; or an individualized emphasis. Students who choose philosophy as their second major may satisfy a significant number of requirements through completion of GCP (Global Citizenship Program) courses.
We offer a minor in philosophy (which may be completed fully online). Students who minor in philosophy may satisfy a significant number of requirements through completion of GCP (Global Citizenship Program) courses.
“My time at Webster has broadened my mind and inflamed my passion to make the world a better and kinder place for all the beings who call it home.”
Elspeth Furey
BA in Philosophy with an Emphasis in Ecofeminism, ’22
Ask the Big Questions and Make a Difference
With us, the "why" questions are always welcome. Respectful, vibrant conversations are the norm. Making a positive difference is the goal. Our thought-provoking classes and other activities stretch the imagination and challenge the intellect. Our faculty work to support students to succeed at Webster and to flourish throughout their lives.
The Philosophy Department offers students numerous opportunities for high-impact experiences, including study abroad, undergraduate research, collaborative projects, common learning experiences and more.
We help prepare students for active lives doing things they love, do well and that make positive difference in the world.
Transcript
[Subtle Electronic music plays]
[Footage of student walking towards Pearson House, home of Webster’s Philosophy Department]
Text on screen: Department Spotlight: Philosophy
Text on screen: Bruce Umbaugh, PhD, Department Chair, Professor, Philosophy
Bruce Umbaugh: Our mission in the Philosophy Department is to cultivate thinking critically and communicating effectively about significant matters to help people live more attentive, responsive, creative and meaningful lives. We offer a major in philosophy with an emphasis in ethics and social justice, art and creativity, or with an individualized emphasis on things like eco feminism, linguistics and philosophy of language, philosophy of race.
Text on screen: Emphasis in Ethics and Social Justice, Art and Creativity, Individualized Emphasis — Eco-Feminism, Linguistics, Philosophy of Race
Umbaugh: A wide variety of things.
Text on screen: Maggie McCarthy, LCSW - Clinical Therapist, Social Worker, BA ’17
Maggie McCarthy: My experience as a student of the Philosophy Department really helps me to be adaptable. Just knowing that I can take on unexpected things and kind of adapt to new situations has been a really valuable thing for me.
[Footage of Bruce smiling and speaking to students in class]
Text on screen: High-Impact Learning — Engage With Complex Topics and Become a Self-Sufficient Learner
Umbaugh: Our faculty really care about student engagement. We really want to build student agency on autonomy.
[Footage of a philosophy class in which Bruce engages and discusses topics with all of the students in the classroom]
Umbaugh: Classes in philosophy tend to be really heavy on discussion, a lot of reading, and then students come into class and we talk about what they've seen and what they've read and how they can apply that in other ways.
Text on screen: Cecilia A. — Student
Cecilia: All of the professors I have kind of feel like advisors. They want to foster discussion. It helps us kind of get a wider range of perspective from each other. They want the students to participate and exchange ideas.
[Footage of Students discussing ideas in the “Feminist Philosophy” course]
Text on Screen: Career Opportunities — Develop Skills for a Successful Life and Career
Umbaugh: Our graduates go on to succeed in life in a lot of different ways. We have graduates who've gone on to work on social justice, lawyers, nurses, mental health counselors.
Text on screen: Careers in — Social Justice Law, Non-Profit Leadership, Mental Healthcare, Academics and Teaching
McCarthy: As a social worker and a therapist, I've been exposed to people that just run the gamut from a lot of different backgrounds and life experiences. Having the philosophy, background has really helped me find ways to relate and connect with people. I think that I have more confidence approaching those situations each year.
Text on screen: Building Connections — Join a Community of Passionate Students and Connect With Professionals
Umbaugh: Each year, we organize and pull off a Philosophy Conference that draws students from all around the region.
Cecilia: The Philosophy Conference helps to kind of build skills around planning an event, working with other people, judges and reviewing papers and presentations, and also having the opportunity to present and then project ourselves.
[Footage of Students participating in the Philosophy Conference and asking questions to the keynote speaker]
Umbaugh: The experience of explaining your ideas and answering questions from an audience is really, really powerful for students.
[Footage of student giving a presentation in front of an audience and answering questions from the crowd; students smiling in class]
Cecilia: The Philosophy Department community is really strong, especially among students, not only because we have classes together all the time, but also because we have the Philosophy Coalition and we spend a lot of time outside of class and we organize the conference together and all of those things really build a good student community, which is great.
[Footage of students in the Philosophy Coalition at Webster’s Involvement Fair; students applauding a presentation at the Philosophy Conference; Cecilia smiling and looking at the camera]
Text on screen: Webster University — webster.edu
[screen fade to black]
The mission of the Center for Ethics is to stimulate dialogue, encourage awareness and promote critical thinking about ethical issues. We aim to inspire reflection about ethical dilemmas and help bring together people generally separated by disciplinary boundaries.
We serve as a collaboration resource within the University and throughout the broader community, urging participants to identify their responsibilities as global citizens.
Pearson House
The Pearson House, home to the Philosophy Department, is located off of Big Bend Boulevard at the northeast corner of the Webster Groves campus. In addition to classrooms and faculty offices, it houses a lending library, a small computer lab, and lounge spaces for students.
8260 Big Bend Blvd.
Webster Groves, MO 63119
