Philosophy class sees instructor swap midway through semester
During the middle of this semester, students in Philosophy 247 welcomed a new instructor for the class centered on the theory of Karl Marx.
In an effort to maintain continuity in the class , the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures has helped students through the transition.
“The previous professor had to withdraw from the class and as a department we came together to find the best possible solution in the situation,” said Catriona MacLeod, chair of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. “So we asked our colleague Ian Fleishman to take over the class and he has done extremely well with it.”
Assistant Professor of German Ian Fleishman, the course’s current instructor, brought a variety of perspectives to the role.
“I saw my role as curating the class,” Fleishman said. “There are plenty of Marxists and Marx experts on campus, and I started out by reaching out to them and I had really an overwhelming show of supports from everybody involved.”
Fleishman appreciated the guest lectures delivered by professors from other departments, including History professor Warren Breckman, English professors David Kazanjian and Jean-Michel Rabaté, Urban Studies professor Andy Lamas and many more.
“All of them have their unique perspectives and unique expertise within the field of Marx and Marxism,” Fleishman said.
“This brings a great diversity of perspectives to the class and allows students an incredibly rich and nuanced understanding of the texts,” he added. The cast of guest lecturers mirrors the make-up of the class, which is cross-listed in German, Philosophy and Comparative Literature.
The sudden switch of instructor left both the department and Fleishman little time to prepare for the transition.
MacLeod said that switching professors in the middle of a semester is a rare occurrence in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, which she has chaired for two terms.
“I haven’t personally had any instance like this in the past,” she said. “As a chair, one of the tasks is to be very responsive in situations that affect our undergraduate teaching. So I basically prioritized that situation that week so that it would be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Fleishman found that taking on a course midway through the semester was different than his typical path as an instructor.
“Normally you got a lot of time to prepare a class. I usually spend months on a syllabus and reread all the material before ever bring[ing] it to the students,” Fleishman said. “You know exactly where everything is going.”
Fleishman hugely appreciates students’ active engagement in the class, adding that the revised course structure has given them a unique sense of ownership. “It’s becoming one of my favorite classes this semester because the students are so great,” he said.
Once every few weeks, Fleishman would break students up into smaller groups for “think tanks,” where students workshop their response papers and discuss guest lectures in greater depth.
“Naturally, it was intimidating to take on a new course mid-semester, especially one that takes on such difficult material,” Fleishman said. “But thanks to an engaged and intelligent group of students and the wonderful support of my colleagues, it has turned out to be one of the more exciting and memorable courses I’ve taught so far at Penn.”
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