Philosophy Collection Development Guidelines

General Department Information

The Department of Philosophy at Kent State University offers undergraduate and graduate programs of study in philosophy leading, respectively, to B.A and M.A. degrees.

Undergraduate opportunities include traditional majors in philosophy, as well as possibilties in the Religious Studies program, or the Health-care Ethics program. The Religion Studies program relates various approaches and topics to a study of religion and of the expressions and impact of religion within human societies and cultures. The Health-care Ethics program is a concentration of courses offered by disciplines within the University concerned with health-care practices and the education of health-care practitioners.
At the graduate level, concentrations are offered in the areas of Culture/History, Ethics/Practice, and Interpretation/Method.

Current information about these programs, faculty and course offerings is found at the department's website This is a link to another web site.

General Collection Development Objectives:

The library works to support undergraduate instruction for majors pursing a B.A. degree in philosophy, to support the graduate program leading to the M.A. degree in Philosophy, and (as is possible) to support interdisciplinary studies.

In addition to this support for instruction, the library seeks to support faculty research.

Scope of Coverage

Subject areas: For undergraduate majors, basic areas include the following:

  • Ethics
  • Formal logic
  • Comparative religious thought
  • Ancient Greek philosophy
  • Medieval philosophy
  • Continental rationalism
  • British empiricism
  • German critical philosophy
  • Nineteenth century philosophy
  • Twentieth century philosophy
  • American philosophy.

Other significant and advanced areas include:

  •  Aesthetics
  • Philosophy of science
  • Women and philosophy
  • African and African-American philosophies
  • Existentialism
  • Epistemology
  • Metaphysics
  • Analytic philosophy
  • Subsequent philosophical analysis
  • Philosophy and justice
  • Philosophy and multiculturalism
  • Phenomenology
  • The philosohy of religion
  • Pragmatism.

Levels: Coverage in all of the areas above is from the basic through the advanced academic levels.

  • Language: primarily English
  • Geography: international
  • Chronology: current and historical 

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Material Types
Recent Acquisitions This is a link to another web site

  • Monographs
  • Journals
  • Electronic Databases
  • Indices
  • Government Documents
  • Proceedings
  • Audio Visual Materials

Periodicals:

Active list of KSU Department of Philosophy subscriptions This is a link to another web site.

Periodical holdings are not classified but are arranged alphabetically in the Periodicals Department. They are available to students in several formats including print, microform and electronic.

Interdisciplinary Relations

The philosophy department participates in a spectrum of interdisciplinary programs:

  • American Studies
  • British Studies
  • Classical Humanities
  • German Studies
  • Health-Care Ethics
  • Hellenic Studies
  • Paralegal Studies
  • Pre- Law
  • Religious Studies
  • Women's Studies
  • Writing Program.

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