Department of Philosophy Records

Collection

Call Number: UA126

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Scope and Contents

This collection contains syllabi and course materials, course listings, grad union information, department policies, form letters, scholarship activity information, reaccreditation information, and annual reports. This series also contains records created and/or kept by the Philosophy Department relating to campus activism on issues including nuclear weapons, disarmament, and divestment; right wing paranoia; and peace-keeping, as well as materials created by and relating to the Tufts Political Action Committee.

Dates

1972 -- 2015

Creator

Department of Philosophy

Language of Materials

English

Access

University records are closed for 20 years from the date of their creation. Records older than 20 years that do not pertain to student education, staff and faculty employment and Board of Trustees records are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Please see “Reproductions and Use” on the Digital Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permission to publish. Copyright to all materials created by Tufts University employees in the course of their work is held by the Trustees of Tufts University.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred by the Philosophy Department, 2018.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in two series: Publications; and 2018 accessions.

Extent

2 Linear Feet (1 record carton, 2 file boxes)

Additional Description

Overview

This collection contains the records of the Philosophy Department.

Biographical / Historical

Although a course in Intellectual Philosophy was taught at Tufts since 1856, an actual track for the attainment of a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy did not become available until 1863. The Philosophical Course was originally intended to occupy three years of a student's studies, but in 1866 it was reduced to two years. In 1875 it was increased to four years, where it stands today.

In 1946, George B. Burch was appointed as chairman of the department. Under Burch the department flourished, and grew to add courses that went beyond the traditional concerns of philosophy and beyond western thought. Unfortunately, by 1966 the department had significantly decreased to only two professors and one instructor. However, student’s interest in philosophy only increased over time, and as of 2018, the department employs twenty-two full-time faculty and five part-time faculty and is headed by associate professor Erin Kelly.

Processing status

Processing of the 2018 accessions was completed by Leah Edelman and Jady Zhang in 2018. Materials were placed in archival boxes if the original housing was damaged, and loose materials were placed in folders where needed. Received order was maintained. A box-level inventory and series-level description were created and the finding aid was updated at the time of processing.