Philosophy

Welcome to the New Academic Year 2025-26!

Dear Philosophy Students,

It was great to see many of you at the Orientation in September. I hope the AQ is going well.

We have an exciting year of speakers and events planned, and we hope to see many of you again soon.

On Monday, October 27, from 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. there will be a Workshop on Philosophy and Its History (taking place in the Philosophy Conference Room), with three outside speakers, Massimiliano Tumba (UC Santa Cruz), Silvestre Gristina (University of Padua / UC Santa Cruz), Dilip Gaonkar (Northwestern), and our own, Andreea Smaranda Aldea presenting. Visiting Madame Curie scholar, Giulia Valpione, and I have organized this meeting, and everyone is welcome to stop by for any part of the workshop.

Our next speaker will be Nick Royle (Sussex) on Zoom, Friday, November 7, 4:00-6:00 p.m. When joining via Zoom, please put on your camera whenever possible, so that our speaker is not staring into a faceless void. Colin Koopman will be giving an in-person talk on Friday, November 14 at 4:00 p.m. Because Prof. Koopman has to leave immediately after his talk, we will be doing a reception before the talk, details coming soon.

We have an exciting roster of talks and discussions as part of the Philosophy Circle programming, so please check out that schedule on the Philosophy Circle page and Philosophy Department Events page. Those of you who will be doing a DUOS project this year, please remember that we will hold an in-person event on Friday, November 7, from 1:30-3:00 p.m. so that the DUOS fellows can introduce themselves and their projects.

If you have questions related to the undergraduate program, please contact our new director of undergraduate studies, Professor Andreea Smaranda Aldea (AALDEA@depaul.edu). For questions related to the graduate program, please contact our director of graduate studies, Professor Kevin Thompson  (KTHOMP12@depaul.edu).  For general questions relating to department operations during the academic year, please contact our department assistant, Regina Robinson  (rrobin40@depaul.edu).

As we embark on another new year of philosophizing together, Symphilosophie in the best sense of that romantic term, I wish you all good health, joy, and peace.

Elizabeth Millán Brusslan
Professor & Chair, Department of Philosophy

emillanb@depaul.edu

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About Philosophy

Philosophy is the enterprise of examining and interrogating the foundational concepts that structure human existence—concepts such as happiness, the good life, human community, freedom, and the self. It entails the cultivation of critical thinking skills, careful questioning, and an appreciation of the rich history of human thought on these and other key issues, as reflected in the texts of great philosophers from Plato and Aristotle to Hegel, Nietzsche, and beyond.

DePaul University’s philosophy department features an internationally recognized faculty that makes it one of the premier philosophy programs in the U.S. working in the European tradition. The department features baccalaureate, master’s, and PhD programs, an active research agenda, and prominent visiting scholars and conferences that serve to enrich and promote the engaged intellectual life of students at all levels.

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