The records of the Philosophy Department of the University of Michigan measure 2.5 linear feet and 3 oversize folders, and date from 1907 to 1987 with many of the records dating from 1947 to 1961, coinciding with William Frankena's tenure as department chair. The record group has been arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material. Photographs of Department of Philosophy graduate students and faculty dating from 1907 to 1932 are available both within the collection and in an oversized folder.
The Correspondence files include information regarding personnel searches, scheduling, and various departmental business. Also included are letters between William Frankena and various acting department chairs who were serving during his sabbatical years. The Course Materials files consist of a sampling of exams and syllabi for several of the department's courses during the years 1947 to 1961 and 1984. Although this material is by no means inclusive of the department's offerings or representative of how the courses were taught over the years, it does provide some insight as to the department's expectations of the students.
The Student Placement files demonstrate the lengths to which the department as a whole went to secure positions for their graduating doctoral students. Correspondence regarding the special circumstances of several students are foldered separately and further show the support one could expect as a graduate of this department. An additional point of interest is the file of Michael Davis which illustrates the department's attitude towards censorship and the governing bodies of higher educational institutions.
The remaining files contain department minutes, personnel information, financial information, statistics, records related to the University of Michigan Tanner Philosophy Library and various other bits of information that could help the researcher construct a picture of the department as it evolved during the 1950's to early 1980s time period.
The Photographs series consists of group prints (some outsize) of philosophy students and faculty.
The origin of the study of Philosophy at the University of Michigan can be traced back to the Catholepisterniad project in 1817, although the department was officially formed in 1837 with the founding of the University of Michigan. The curriculum was closely tied with religious principles as the first chairs and professors of the Philosophy Department hailed from the ranks of the clergy. Later, however, the curriculum and philosophical slant of the department was determined by the professors comprising the department's faculty.'
Consisting of fewer than six faculty up until the 1940's the Philosophy Department catered to a small number of students and was considered a distinguished program based upon the caliber of the faculty who sought to teach at the University of Michigan. Among outstanding philosophers who taught for the department are George Sylvester Morris, John Dewey, Robert Mark Wenley, Roy Wood Sellars, DeWitt H. Parker, C.H. Langford, Paul Henle, William Frankena, Charles Stevenson and Arthur Burks. These faculty members published various works in their respective fields of interests and were active in professional and academic circles.
In 197 1, the department had increased its faculty size to 20 and served approximately 60 students. Numerous searches took place to raise the ranks. Budget fluctuations called for the creation of visiting lecturer positions where professors from other institutions would serve one to two year stints at the University of Michigan. William Frankena observed this process from the other side as he took a sabbatical leave to serve as a visiting professor at Harvard University. Teaching fellowships, granted to graduate students were also another way of staffing lower level courses and providing assistance to the professors.
Enrollment in the Department of Philosophy's courses and program dropped during the 1970's encouraging the department to revise its offerings making them more accessible to non-Philosophy students and to develop alliances with other departments forming interdepartmental offerings.
Faculty members were active in campus affairs as well as in their own departmental activities. Department members frequently served on various University committees while also fulfilling their obligations to the department and the students. Great effort was expended in the placing of doctoral students in teaching positions across the United States resulting in or from outstanding relationships with colleagues at other universities.
For further information regarding the Department of Philosophy and its faculty, consult the papers of Arthur Burks, John Dewey, Arnold Kaufman, Alfred Lloyd, George Morris, Roy Wood Sellars, Charles Stevenson, Charles Bruce Vibbert, Robert Mark Wenley, and William Frankena, also located at the Bentley Historical Library.
Deans of the Department
| Date |
Event |
| 1837-? | Rev. John Monteith and Father Gabriel Richard |
| 1869-1883 | Rev. B.J. Cocker |
| 1884-1889 | George Sylvester Morris |
| 1889-1894 | John Dewey |
| 1894-1996 | Alfred Henry Lloyd |
| 1926-1929 | Robert Mark Wenley |
| 1929-1947 | DeWitt Parker |
| 1947-1951 | William Frankena |
| 1961-1964 | William Alston |
| 1964-1977 | Richard Brandt |
| 1977-1979 | Alvin Goldman |
| 1979-1987 | Jeqwon Kim |
| 1987-1988 | Allan F. Gibbard |
| 1988-1993 | Stephen Darwall |
| 1993-1999 | Louis E. Loeb |
| 1999-2002 | Darwall, Stephen L. |
| 2002-2005 | Railton, Peter A. |
| 2005-2010 | Joyce, James M. |
| 2011-2014 | Reutsche, Laura |
| 2014-2017 | Anderson, Elizabeth S. |
Acting Deans of the Department
| Date |
Event |
| 1949, 1971-1972 | Charles Stevenson |
| 1954 | Irving Copi |
| 1956-1957, 1962-1963 | Paul Henle |
| 1975-1976 | Jaeqwon Kim |
| 2002 | Loeb, Louis E. |
| 2004-2005 | Loeb, Louis E. |
| 2010 | Loeb, Louis E. |
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Sources:
- Shaw, Wilfred B. The University of Michigan: An Encyclopedic Survey, Vol. IV Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1944.
- Brinkman, Ferol, Editor. The University of Michigan: An Encyclopedic Survey, Vol. VI (1940-1975). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1981.
