Philosophy and Religion
Within the Philosophy and Religion program you can pursue a B.A. degree in Philosophy and Religion, Philosophy Legal Studies, or Philosophy Graduate Studies. A minor in Philosophy and Religion is also available.
About the Program
The Philosophy and Religion (PHIL) program draws on traditions of thought from around the world. Its strength lies in its ability to bring diverse traditions to bear on philosophical and religious questions as well as contemporary ethical, social, and political issues. The program offers courses that are designed to help students think critically about fundamental values and their application to society. Program courses are open to students of any major as well as those who want to make Philosophy and Religion their major or minor. The program also offers a Legal Studies concentration for Philosophy majors, and a concentration for majors interested in and dedicated to pursuing their graduate work in philosophy.
Program Chair
The study of Philosophy and Religion is the ability to critically engage ideas, theories, faiths, and forms of life so that key values, histories, and intellectual processes may be understood and reflected upon systematically. Philosophy and Religion represents key disciplines where the search for values, rituals, logic, and interpretation emerge, and where their application to lives have found a focus on the questions of the human quest for meaning and structure.
The Philosophy and Religion program at Stockton University is a place to come for an excellent education owing to the unique, dynamic, and diverse areas of specialty and experiences that its members create. The courses offered by program members, both in Philosophy and Religion and in General Studies, provide inspiring opportunities for undergraduates who want to acquire a broad humanistic background, who wish to pursue further study in philosophy and religion, o r who are heading toward other professional careers.
Curriculum
The Philosophy and Religion program offers courses beginning at the introductory level on the leading ideas, values, techniques, and history of philosophy and religion, as well as intermediate and upper-level courses of a more intense nature. Each faculty member also offers a Senior Seminar (the capstone course) as well as specialty courses and independent studies.The program offers a major and a minor in Philosophy and Religion and is also designed to serve non-majors. The following is a current list of courses offered, although not necessarily every semester.
To view the curriculum, you’ll use the web program, Degree Works. This program is accessible even if you are not currently a student with Stockton University.
Current Students
Access your portal for Degree Works, then look for the “what if” option to explore the various paths towards degree completion. Click the button below for instructional viodes on how to use Degree Works:
Prospective First Year or Transfer Students
Use the button below:
How to Use Degree Works Equivalency
- At the next page you are prompted with three (3) options. Select the one that says “continue without signing in.”
- Respond to each prompt using the pull-down menu in the center of the page. [Please be patient. It may take a few seconds for the system to process your request. If you see a NO symbol, you need to wait a moment!]
Prompts include:
- Enrollment dates (Choose intended semester attending)
- Intended level (Choose “undergraduate”)
- What degree you will pursue? (Choose “Bachelor of Arts”)
- What is your intended major? (Choose "Philosophy and Religion”)
- What is your intended concentration? (Choose "General," "Philosophy Graduate School," or "Philosophy Legal Studies")
- What is your intended minor? (Choose “none” or select one - it is not required). For Philosophy and Religion minors, select "Philosophy and Religion"
- For prospective students, choose “I’m all done" button.
- For transfer students, use the “class” button to see how courses already taken fit into the Stockton degree path.
- You will see an overview of the degree you have selected, including all requirements.
- At the bottom of the screen, you could save or print the worksheet.
To view the Course Schedule by term, click here.
See the Catalog of Courses for complete descriptions of course offerings.
For detailed curriculum information, please refer to the Academic Bulletin.
- Adapting to Change
The Philosophy and Religion program is a place to come for an excellent education due to the unique, dynamic, and diverse areas of specialty and experiences that its faculty members create. Our courses prepare students as serious competitors for further study, professional careers, and, above all, a well-rounded education. Some of our graduates have received law degrees, master’s degrees in philosophy, library science, bioethics, theology, counseling, chiropractic, herbal medicine, and an MFA in poetry, while others are graduate students in psychology, osteopathic medicine, information sciences, and cognition, brain and behavior programs. - Information Literacy & Research Skills
To discover the rich history of ideas, and the foundation of the humanities and the arts. - Communication Skills, Creativity & Innovation
To develop critical and creative skills in thinking, writing, and interpretation, and to be provided with time-tested tools of philosophical analysis. - Ethical Reasoning
To be inspired by the search for values and the quest for a deeply meaningful life. - Teamwork & Collaboration
To become part of a vibrant community of scholars in the interpretation of the love of wisdom.
Minor
The Philosophy and Religion program also offers a minor for students who have an interest in philosophy or religion. The minor works extremely well for students who are majoring in other fields, allowing them to further explore theories, histories, and values, while adding a distinctive touch to their degree. To minor in Philosophy and Religion students are required to complete five courses, one of which must be Philosophical Methods, with a grade of C or better. At least three of the courses must be at the 2000 level or above. To secure the best course progression, students must consult with a faculty member of the program or speak to the Program Coordinator.
Faculty
Rodger L. Jackson, Professor of Philosophy
Rodger L. Jackson
Professor of Philosophy
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Michigan State University
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Ethical theory, applied ethics, pragmatism, history of philosophy
COURSES
PHIL 1101 Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 1204 Symbolic Logic
PHIL 1203 Critical Thinking
PHIL 2112 Ethics: Theory & Practice
PHIL 2118 Pragmatism
PHIL 3100 Moral Theory
PHIL 3130 Environmental Philosophy
PHIL 5310 Business Ethics Seminar
GAH 2162 Medicine, Ethics, & the Arts
PUBLICATIONS
Co-authored with Jinchang Wang. “Resolving Bertrand’s Probability Paradox.” International Journal of Open Problems in Computer Science and Mathematics 4.3. International Center for Scientific Research and Studies. Sept 2011.
Co-authored with Laurie Baker, Robert Gregg, Peter Hagen, and G.T. Lenard. “Critical Inquiry: What can the Humanities teach us about conducting research in academic advising?” Scholarly Inquiry in Academic Advising, Peter Hagen, Terry Kuhn, Gary Padak, eds. Manhattan, KS: National Academic Advising Association, 2010.
“Academic Advising and Philosophy.” NACADA Journal 25.2 (2005): 30-36.
Co-authored with Peter Hagen. “The Ethics of Student Faculty Friendships.” Teaching Philosophy 24.1 (2001): 1-18.
Co-authored with Whiton Paine. “Salvaging Kids and Ethical Principles at the Same Time.” Integrated Marketing for the Future: 17th Anuual Atlantic Marketing Association Conference. Sept 2001, Portland, ME. Ed. Jerry Wilson. Statesboro, GA: The Atlantic Marketing Association, 2001.
“The Sense and Sensibility of Betrayal: Discovering the Meaning of Betrayal through Jane Austen.” Humanitas 13.2 (2000): 72-89.
“Physician Strikes and Trust.” The Cambridge Quarterly Journal of Health Care Ethics 9.4 (2000): 504-512.
Co-authored with Edward Pabon. “Race and treating other people’s children as adults.” Journal Of Criminal Justice 28.6 (2000): 507-515.
Entries on “Capital Punishment,” “Freedom,” “Philosophy,” “Post-Modernism,” “Puritanism,” “Violence,” and “War.” The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture. New York: Routledge P, 2000.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Member, American Philosophy Association
Anne F. Pomeroy, Professor of Philosophy
Anne F. Pomeroy
Professor of Philosophy
BIOGRAPHY
Anne Pomeroy received her M.A. degree in philosophy from Columbia University and her Ph.D. from Fordham University. Although she teaches a broad range of topics: social and political philosophy, existentialism, African-American philosophy, her areas of special interest are Marx and Marxism, dialectics and process thought, and Sartre. She is Co-Coordinator of the Society for the Philosophical Study of Marxism, and Vice-President of the Stockton Federation of Teachers.
A native New Yorker, Anne now lives in Philadelphia with her husband Peter Amato, who teaches philosophy at Drexel University, and their two lovely cats, Emma and Oliver. When not reading, discussing, contemplating, arguing about, or writing philosophy, Anne enjoys playing classical flute and singing in the Stockton Faculty Band!
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Fordham University
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Social and political philosophy, Marxism, critical theory, existentialism.
COURSES
PHIL 1101 Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 2201 African American Philosophy
PHIL 2211 Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 3613 Feminist Philosophies
PHIL 3617 Critical Social Theory
PHIL 4600 Senior Seminar
GAH 1068 Freshman Seminar: Power and Society
GAH 2237 Existentialism and Film
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
“Ontological Borders: On Lives Precarious and Degraded”, Radical Philosophy Review, Volume 19, Issue 2, 2016.
“Internal Relations and the Revolutionary Consciousness,” Capital and Class, 39.1 (2015), pp. 79-93.
Review Article: “Review of Sam Coombe’s, The Early Sartre and Marxism”, Historical Materialism, 22.1 (2014), pp. 178-199.
“The Economy of Death: Production, Reproduction, and the Matter of Ontological Difference,” International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, Volume 4, Number 3 (2013). 296-309
Marx and Whitehead: Process, Dialectics, and the Critique of Capitalism. Albany: SUNY P, 2003.
RECENT PRESENTATIONS
Roundtable panelist, “Mediations in the Transition Beyond Capitalism.” The Left Forum, New York, NY: May 21, 2016.
“Capital Destruction: and Why We Can’t Seem to Care.” 10th Annual International Conference on Ecological Civilization, Pitzer College, Claremont, CA: April 29, 2016 (invited and featured speaker – also sat on two panels at the conference).
“Meszaros and the Development of Radical Subjectivity.” The Left Forum, New York, NY: May 29, 2015. (Invited speaker)
“On Lives: Precarious and Degraded,” Biennial Conference of the Radical Philosophy Association, Stony Brook, NY: November 8, 2014.
“Marxian Ontology and the Move from Barbarism to Socialism”. The Left Forum, New York, NY: May 30-June 1, 2014. (Invited speaker)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Radical Philosophy Association
American Philosophical Association
Sartre Society, Society for Process Philosophy
Society for Existentialism and Phenomenology
Lucio A. Privitello, Professor of Philosophy, Tsantes Endowed Professor of Ancient Greek Philosophy; The Pappas Center for Hellenic Studies
Lucio A. Privitello
Professor of Philosophy, Tsantes Endowed Professor of Ancient Greek Philosophy; The Pappas Center for Hellenic Studies
BIOGRAPHY
Lucio Angelo Privitello was raised and schooled in Grammichele, Sicily, where he received his Diploma Superiore in Ceramics and Design, and was apprentice to painter and sculptor Giuseppe Benassi in Parma, Italy. He received a B.F.A. in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design, an M.A. in Philosophy from Temple University, and an M.A., and Ph.D., in Philosophy from Villanova University.
He is currently a tenured Professor of Philosophy, Tsantes Endowed Professor of Ancient Greek Philosophy, and Chair of the Philosophy and Religion Program, at Stockton University. His publications include studies on Bataille, Royce, Chauncey Wright, G.H. Palmer, Marcuse, Deleuze, Visconti, Lampedusa, Baudrillard, Nietzsche, and Umberto Eco.His publications include studies on Bataille, Royce, Chauncey Wright, G.H. Palmer, Marcuse, Deleuze, Visconti, Lampedusa, Baudrillard, Nietzsche, and Umberto Eco. His conference presentations include work in ancient Greek philosophy, Derrida, Adorno, Lacan, Proust, Santayana, pedagogy, art theory, horror, and humor theory. He is currently preparing a manuscript and translation of the fragments of Parmenides, as well as a manuscript on Il Gattopardo.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Villanova University
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Ancient Greek philosophy, Renaissance philosophy, history of modern philosophy, aesthetics, Nietzsche, American philosophy (Wright, Royce, Palmer, Peirce), contemporary continental philosophy, Bataille, Lacan, philosophy and psychoanalysis, philosophy and literature, post-structuralism.
COURSES
PHIL 1101 Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 1402 Mysticism and Philosophy
PHIL 2109 Ancient Greek Philosophy
PHIL 2222 Renaissance Philosophy in Italy
PHIL 2223 Death, Myth, and Philosophy
PHIL 2224 The Search for A God Language
Philosophies of Psychoanalyses
PHIL 3116 Philosophies of Art
PHIL 3607 History of Modern Philosophy
PHIL 3615 Philosophical Methods
PHIL 3619 History of Modern Philosophy II
PHIL 3616 Leibniz: Unicorns to Universes
PHIL 3300 Nietzsche: Forgetting and Remembering Philosophy
PHIL 4600 Senior Seminar (Topics: Parmenides: Philosophy and/as Law)
PHIL 4600 Senior Seminar (Topic: Volumes and Edges of Contemporary Philosophy)
PHIL 4600 Senior Seminar (Topic: Fate, Fortune, Chance, and Necessity)
GAH 1002/2102 The Ways of Love
GAH 2345 Humor's Logic and Laughter's Wisdom
GAH 2324 In the Animal's Image
GAH 2271 Philosophies of Life and Death: True Blood and Philosophy
GAH 2290 Horror: Reason, Madness, Faith - American Horror Story, Asylum
Independent Studies: Hegel Science and System, The Orders of Pleasure: Sade and Masoch, Hobbes: Of Men
and Monsters, Creativity and Creation, Historicycles & Phantasy (Vico), Phenomenology
and the Arts, Spinoza: Urban Conatus, Philosophy of Nature.
PUBLICATIONS
Book reviews of Guido Calenda, Un Universo Aperto: La Cosmologia e la Struttura della Terra, (Bologna: Diogene Multimedia, 2017, 127 pages), and Nicola Stefano Galgano, I Precetti della Dea: Non Essere e Contraddizione in Parmenide di Elea (Bologna: Diogene Multimedia, 2017, 233 pages) for the tier-one journal Archai: Journal on the Study of the Origins of Western Thought (Brazil). Reviews requested and peer reviewed. (Forthcoming fall/winter 2018).
“Umberto Eco’s Adventurous Orders,” Journal of Italian Philosophy, Vol. 1, pp. 83-113, Spring 2018. https://research.ncl.ac.uk/italianphilosophy/current%20issue/
“Approaching the Parmenidean Sublime,” Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy (forthcoming, Fall 2018). https://www.pdcnet.org/epoche/onlinefirst.
“Who’s, What’s, I Don’t Know: A Musement on Eco’s Pragmatism,” The European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy (EJPAP) Special Issue, “Eco and Pragmatism” (forthcoming, Summer 2018).
“I have wandered in a face …” Chapter 20, pp. 587-611 in The Philosophy of Umberto Eco, Vol. XXXV, Library of Living Philosophers. Edited by Sara C. Beardsworth and Randall E. Auxier, (Chicago: Open Court Publishing, 2017)
“Josiah Royce on Nietzsche’s Couch.” Article in The Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society “Royce Centennial Issue,” Spring 2016, Vol. 52. No. 2, 179-200.
“Close Encounters of a Derridian Kind: the Hippias Major and a Littering on το καλός.” Derrida Today Conference, Goldsmiths University, London, 8-11 June, 2016.
“Musings of a Foreign-Born Philosopher in the American Academy”. Chapter 20, pp. 234-245 in Experiences of Immigrant Professors: Challenges, Cross-Cultural Differences, and Lessons for Success. C. B. Hutchinson Editor. (New York: Routledge, 2016).
“Dust and Sicily’s Voluptuous Immobility: Il Gattopardo.” Conference presentation for: “Sicily: Language, Art and Culture.” Center for Italian Studies. University of Pennsylvania, 11-12 February, 2016.
“To Regain the Scent for the Wilderness of Essence: Santayana’s Fantastic Lesson”. Conference presentation for the Midwest Pragmatist Study Group (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis), 21-22, September 2013.
“Teaching Marcuse: A Critical Pedagogy of Aesthetic Dimensions.” Radical Philosophy Review, 2014, Volume 16, number 1, pp. 109-122.
Editor, Blood Type: Writ(h)ing In & On True Blood. Vol. 1. Margate, NJ: Comteq Publishing, 2011.
“Josiah Royce and the Problems of Philosophical Pedagogy (Part 1).” The Transactions of the C.S. Peirce Society 46.1 (2010): 111-142.
“Josiah Royce and the Problems of Philosophical Pedagogy (Part 2).” The Transactions of the C.S. Peirce Society 46.2 (2011): 300-320.
Translator, “Incanto del vedutismo Veneto.” Susanna Travani. Centro Culturale Maison d’Art: Padua, Italy, 2009.
“Chauncey Wright.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. David Boersema and James Fieser, eds. 27 May 2007.
“S/laughter and Anima-lethe.” Reading Bataille, Now. Ed. Shannon Winnubst. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 2006. 167-196.
“Introducing the Philosophy of Education and Pedagogy of Chauncey Wright.” The Transactions of the C.S. Peirce Society 41.3 (2005): 627-649.
“The Incompossible Language of Natural Aristocracy: Deleuze’s misreading of Visconti’s The Leopard." Senses of Cinema. Senses of Cinema Inc. 18 Oct. 2005.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Philosophical Association
Ancient Philosophy Society
Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy (SAAP)
North American Schelling Society
Leibniz Society of North America (nominated for membership)
Charles S. Peirce Society
The Josiah Royce Society
The David Hume Society
The William James Society
Karl Jaspers Society of North America
International Plato Society
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
“Renaissance Man”, article in Stockton Now, “Stockton Goes Global”, Winter/Spring 2013, pp. 11-12
Feature article in Press of Atlantic City, July 30, 2011, Section B, pp. B1, B3.
Reviewer for Hypatia: A journal of Feminist Philosophy (summer 2015)
Reviewer for Radical Philosophy Association (spring 2015)
Moderator for “Constantine: Religious Faith and Imperial Policy” – Symposium for the
1700th Anniversary of the Edict of Milan, Stockton College, October 4-5, 2013.
Lecture on “Philosophy, and Its History” for Wesley Enhanced Living Retirement Community,
Philadelphia, PA, (June 5, 2013).
Mentor and contact for PHIL student Brandon Bujnowski for European Master in Intercultural
Communication (inalco), via Lugano, Suisse, and Paris. 2014.
Mentored PHIL Major, Jim Challender for paper presentation at GPPC,at College of New
Jersey, February 2014.
STATEMENT OF PEDAGOGY
Teaching philosophy is to teach apprenticeships in creativity. It is an honor to be able to share the passion for philosophical investigations in a well-structured historical approach, and to guide and inspire students in their journey into ways of thinking and the ways of life. There is no greater pleasure than to see the birth of the pleasure in reflection.
Edward Siecienski, Professor of Religion and Clement and Helen Pappas Professor of Byzantine Civilization and Religion
Edward Siecienski
Professor of Religion and Clement and Helen Pappas Professor of Byzantine Civilization and Religion
BIOGRAPHY
Prof. Siecienski is a New Jersey native who attended Georgetown University before obtaining his M. Div/STL from St. Mary’s Seminary and University and then a PhD from Fordham University in New York. He has taught at Fordham as a post-doctoral fellow, and at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania. In 2008 he returned to New Jersey and began teaching at Stockton, where he teaches courses in philosophy/religion and history. Married with two children, he supports Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, and Philadelphia Union.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Fordham University
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Historical theology, Patristic and Byzantine studies, Christian thought
COURSES
HIST 2113 Imperial Byzantium
PHIL 2124 Medieval Philosophy
PHIL 2211 Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 2402 Judaism, Christianity, Islam (Abrahamic Faiths)
PHIL/HIST 2403 History of Christian Thought I
PHIL/HIST 2404 History of Christian Thought II
PHIL/HIST 2405 Eastern Christianity
PHIL 2406 Modern Issues in Religious Studies
PHIL 4600 Senior Seminar: Metaphysics
GAH 2368 Church and State in American Society
GAH 2354 History of the Papacy
GAH 1274 The Crusades: God’s Warriors
PUBLICATIONS
Books (Author)
The Papacy and the Orthodox: Sources and History of a Debate. Oxford University Press, 2017.
The Filioque: History of a Doctrinal Controversy (Oxford University Press, 2010)
Books (Editor)
Constantine: Religious Faith and Imperial Policy. Routledge, 2017.
Chapters in Books
“Maximus, the Filioque, and the Papacy: From Prooftext to Mediator.”
Chapter in Maximus the Confessor: Saint Between East and West. Cascade Books, forthcoming.
"Maximus the Confessor and Ecumenism." Chapter in Oxford Handbook to Maximus the Confessor. Oxford University Press, 2015. 548-63.
“The Filioque: A Brief History.” Chapter in Ecumenical Perspectives on the Filioque for the 21st Century. T & T Clark, 2014. 7-19
“Holy Disobedience: Resistance to Ecclesiastical and Secular Authority in the Orthodox Tradition.” Chapter in Power and Authority in Eastern Christian Experience: The Sophia Institute Studies in Orthodox Theology. Vol. 3. Theotokos Press, 2011. 138-62.
“(Re)defining the Boundaries of Orthodoxy: The Rule of Faith and the 20th Century Rehabilitation of Origen.” Chapter in Tradition and the Rule of Faith in the Early Church: Essays in Honor of Joseph T. Lienhard. Alex Huang and Ronnie Rombs, eds. Washington, D.C.: CUA, 2010. 286-307.
“Avoiding the Sin of Ham: Dealing with Errors in the Works of the Fathers.” Chapter in Studia Patristica: Ascetica, Liturgica, Orientalia, Critica et Philologica, The First Two Centuries: Papers presented at the Fifteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies, XLV. J. Peeters, 2010. 175-179.
Forward to The Infancy Gospels of Jesus: Apocryphal Tales from the Childhoods of Mary and Jesus - Annotated & Explained by Stevan Davies. Skylight Illuminations, 2009.
“Gilding the Lily: A Patristic Defense of Liturgical Splendor.” Chapter in Wealth and Poverty in Early Church and Society. Holy Cross Studies in Patristic Theology and History. Ed. Susan Holman Baker Academic Press, 2008. 211-20.
Journal Articles/Reviews
Review of The Concept of Sister Churches in Catholic-Orthodox Relations Since Vatican II by Will Cohen. St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, forthcoming.
"Holy Hair: Beards in the Patristic Tradition." St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 58 (2014): 41-67.
"Mary in Antioch: Mary in the Writings of Chrysostom, Theodoret of Cyr, and Nestorius." St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 56 (2012): 133-69.
Review of The Body in St. Maximus the Confessor by Adam Cooper. St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly (2008): 134-36.
“The Authenticity of Maximus the Confessor’s Letter to Marinus: The Argument from Theological Consistency.” Vigiliae Christianae 61 (2007): 189-227.
Encyclopedia Articles
Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (30 vols). Articles on Beards, Gregory of Cyprus, Gregory Palamas, John of Damascus, John Bekkos. de Gryter Publishers, 2011-present.
Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Articles on Maximus the Confessor, Barlaam of Calabria, Gregory Palamas, George Scholarius, and the Council of Ferrara-Florence. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodoxy. Articles on Cyril Loukaris, Michael Caerularios, Nicholas Cabasilas, Council of Lyons, Mark of Ephesus, Theophylact of Ohrid, Gennadius Scholarius, Eastern Catholic Churches. Blackwell, 2010.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Sources of Early Christian Thought - Editorial Board
The Scholarly Editions and Translations Committee
National Endowment for the Humanities
Senior Fellow, The Sophia Institute: International Center for Orthodox Thought and
Culture
American Academy of Religion
North American Patristics Society
Orthodox Theological Society of America
Byzantine Studies Association of North America
Jongbok Yi, Associate Professor of Asian Philosophy
Jongbok Yi
Associate Professor of Asian Philosophy
BIOGRAPHY
I was born in Seoul, Korea. I studied Ch’an or Zen Buddhist traditions in China and Korea, and also studied and practiced Daoism and Confucianism in Sungkyunkwan University. After attaining an M.A. degree for early Ch’an Buddhism at Seoul National University in 2000, while studying Indian and Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism at the University of Virginia, I achieved an M.A. in 2005 and a Ph.D. degree in 2013. I am very interested in the intellectual history of the philosophy of the Middle Way (Madhyamaka, dbu ma) in India and Tibet. Currently, I am planning to collaborate with two Japanese scholars to publish a series of books on Tibetan understanding of Indian Middle Way School from 8th century C.E. to 15th century C.E.
I am also a tea drinker. Please stop by and tell me your story with a sip of tea.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., University of Virginia
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Chinese religions, Buddhist philosophy, Confucianism, Daoism, Shamanism, Hinduism.
COURSES
PHIL 1101 Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 2100 Buddhist Philosophy
PHIL 2121 Chinese Philosophy
PHIL 2123 Indian Philosophy
PHIL 2126 Tibetan Buddhism
GAH 1370 Chinese Culture
GAH 2347 History of Tea
PUBLICATIONS
Yi, Jongbok. The Opposite of Emptiness in the Middle Way Autonomy School: Jam-yang-shay-pa's Great
Exposition of the Middle. UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies.
Hopkins, Jeffrey and Jongbok Yi, The Hidden Teaching of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras: Jam-yang-shay-pa’s Seventy
Topics and Kon-chog-jig-may-wang-po’s Supplement. UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies. 2013. http://uma-tibet.org/edu/gomang/gomang_first.php.
Hopkins, Jeffrey and Jongbok Yi, Ngag-wang-pal-dan’s Explanation of the Treatise.
Ornament for the Clear Realizations from the Approach of the Meaning of the Words:
The Sacred Word of Maitreyanatha. UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies.
Yi, Jongbok. “Controversy among Ge-luk-pa Scholars about What is Negated in Emptiness
according to the Svatantrika-Madhyamika School.” Journal of Buddhist Philosophy 1 (2014).
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Academy of Religion
American Philosophical Association
International Association of Buddhist Studies
International Association of Tibetan Studies
Careers
The study of philosophy fosters skills of textual analysis, argumentation, thinking, historical consciousness, writing and conceptual synthesis. Thus, it provides a solid background for the achievement of excellence in all professions. With its emphasis on the study of personal and social values, it promotes thoughtful and compassionate conduct in the workplace. While some Philosophy majors choose to attend graduate school to become professional philosophers, teachers, theologians or ministers, others use their philosophy background as a preparation for a career in law, medicine, government, social services, nonprofit organizations, and business.
Special Opportunities
The International Honor Society (PST), Stockton Philosophical Society (SPS), the Classical Humanities Society (CHSSJ), and the Philosophy Speaker Series are active and exciting groups within the Philosophy and Religion program. For students
interested in further discussion on philosophical and religious topics and themes,
the SPS meets twice a week. Our chapter of PST (Phi Sigma Tau), the International Honor Society of Philosophy, with a rotating Faculty Advisor and three student officers, offers in-depth analysis
of chosen topics and themes and the opportunity for students to publish in its journal
Dialogue, and graduate with honors. The Classical Humanities Society of South Jersey (CHSSJ) brings speakers to campus for lectures on the classics and classical history disseminated
through the humanities. The Philosophy Speaker Series invites scholars from area universities and colleges to lecture, visit, and have
dinner with our Philosophy majors and minors.
