HCSPiP is designed with a pedagogical framework in mind; it’s as much an opportunity for professors to develop their teaching skills as for students to develop their thinking skills. “To not only do philosophy with other invested students but to also be a part of a teaching experience for the professors was really cool,” Carter Furmanek ’27 said.
Each summer, the program invites accomplished philosophy instructors from around the world to develop their methodology. “Academia doesn’t always reward people for teaching interestingly; Hamilton is different,” Marcus explained. “We’re trying to share that kind of culture with other institutions and scholars.”
This year featured Professor Lauren Traczykowski from Aston University in England and Professor Sara Uckelman from Durham University. Alongside Marcus and three graduate students who are alumni of Hamilton’s Philosophy Department, the accomplished team offered three unique courses.
Disaster Ethics, taught by Traczykowski, explored how to be ethical amidst pressing circumstances. “I really loved Lauren’s [Traczykowski] style of teaching,” said Gabrielle Brihn ’26. “She wasn’t afraid to challenge our thoughts.” The course included a visit from a disaster lawyer and former emergency management professional who spoke with the group. Furmanek commented fondly on the experience. “The interactive exercises we did were really thought-provoking. We’d often discuss concepts long after class ended.”
“I was able to use virtual reality to better experience the aftermath of a disaster with a professor from the UK, chat about sports with graduate students over dinner, and hike a mountain with undergraduates from across the globe.” - Carter Furmanek ’27
Disagreement in Democracy was taught by Marcus and tutors Henry Curcio ’21, Noa Dahan, and Chris Bousquet ’16. The course examined how to have disagreement without fearing disconnection. “At the college level we should not be scared of the repercussions of disagreement,” explained Marcus. That’s why he collaborated with Hamilton’s Common Ground program, which is similarly designed to expose students to cross-boundary discourse. The event highlight was a panel featuring specialists in streamlining difficult conversations at a college level. “The Common Ground event really brought to life what we were learning in class,” said Furmanek.
Fiction Writing as Philosophical Methodology, taught by Uckelman, focused on how writing fiction can bring as much, if not more, insight into philosophical issues than traditional methods. The group had a range of thinking and writing exercises that culminated in an open mic night where students had a chance to share their writing. “Everybody was so supportive and people did some really cool stuff — writing in different languages or writing really serious and really funny things,” said Brihn, who was doing accompanying summer research on fiction.
A key component of HCPSIS is the opportunity for additional research. “Sometimes students want to do a whole summer of work,” Marcus said, “so we make sure they can do research alongside the program.” Brihn, who is a philosophy major and creative writing minor, says her research was inspired by the fiction writing course. “I’ve always loved creative writing so when I heard it would be a part of the program I saw a great research opportunity.” Brihn was focusing on how — similar to writing — reading fiction can help teach the goals of philosophy. During the program, she presented some of her findings to the group.
Brihn and Furmanek believe HCPSIS has helped orient their academic and professional goals. “Thanks to the program I realized that I really like the social aspect of philosophy, which I hadn’t gravitated to before,” Brinh said. “Having a group of similar minded students is really helpful for defining your ambition,” Furmanek added. Marcus is delighted with how the summer went, “I was really pleased with the group and courses this summer…It’s a fun program to run, and that I get to do it is amazing.”
