The department academic regulations are designed to assist students to maintain their studentship and understand requirements for the award of degrees in the University. Such regulations include those governing the operation of the Course System, conduct of sessional and final examinations, the grading system, requirements for graduation, and penalties for malpractices, among others.

 COURSE CREDIT SYSTEM

The department operates the course credit system for its programme to ensure thematic structuring of the programme of study and allows for inter-departmental and inter-disciplinary collaboration in curriculum planning, formulation, and teaching as well as minimise the duplication of courses. The system will allow in taking elective courses from outside their areas of specialisation, thus broadening their educational base.

The course credit system is a quantitative system of organisation in which subject areas are broken down into units, which are examinable and for which students earn credits if passed. The courses are arranged in progressive order of academic progress. For example, Level 1 courses are 101, 102, 103, and so on while Level 2 courses are 201, 202, 202, and so on. Courses mounted during the Harmattan Semester end with an odd number like 103, 203 205, and so on) while those mounted during the Rain Semester end with an even number like 204, 306, 402.

 

CREDIT UNITS

Credit units are a measure of course weight and also as an indicator of student workload. A 1- credit unit means one hour of lecture or tutorials per week per semester. A 2-credit unit means 2 hours of lecture per week per semester while a 3-credit unit means 2 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week per semester.

 

STUDENT WORK LOAD

Every student is expected to register for a minimum of 18 credit units per semester and a maximum of 24 credit units. In registering for courses, students with carry-over courses or courses at lower levels must first register for such courses before new ones, as may be directed and advised by the Head of the Department and Level Advisor. A student that has carry-over courses of more than 15 credit units in a semester will not be allowed to proceed to the next higher level except such courses are all registered for and passed.

 

GRADING SYSTEM

The grading system being used is a combination of letter and figure grades. The letter grades range from A to F while the figure grades vary from 0-5. The percentage scores, letter grades, Grade Point Average (GPA), Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), and classes of degree as recommended for all Nigerian universities by NUC, which is shown below:

Table 1: Scoring and Grading System

 

The Grade Point is derived from the actual percentage, raw score for a given course; the raw score is converted into a letter grade and a grade point, while the Grade Point Average is the average of weighted grade points earned in the courses taking during the semester. The Grade Point Average is obtained by multiplying the Grade Point Average in each course by the number of credit units assigned to that course, and then summing these up and dividing by the total number of credit units taken for the semester.

 

The Cumulative Grade Point Average is the up-to-date mean of the Grade Points earned by the student in a programme of study. It is an indication of the student’s overall performance at any point in the training programme. It is obtained by adding the total number of Grade Points multiplied by the respective credit units for all the semesters and then dividing by the total number of credit units for all courses registered by the student as demonstrated in Table 2:

Table 2:  Calculation of Grade Point average

Total Number of Unit (TNU) = 13         Total Credit Points (TCP) =51

GPA= TCP/     TNU = 51/13  = 3.92

 

CLASS OF DEGREE     

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), which is an important assessment, is a parameter used to determine the level of the final pass grade obtained students in the programme. The class of degree is determined by the CGPA at the end of the final year. The classification is as follows:

 

 

CGPA	Class of Degree
4.50 – 5.00	1st Class (Hons.)
3.50 – 4.49	2nd Class (Hons.) Upper Division
2.40 – 3.49	2nd Class (Hons.) Lower Division
1.50 – 2.39	3rd Class (Hons.)
1.00 – 1.49	Pass

 

STUDENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION/ACADEMIC STANDING

Cumulative Grade Point Average is used to assess student overall academic performance in a programme of study. 

And to be in good standing, a student will be required to maintain a Cumulative Grade-Point Average (CGPA) of not less than 1.5 at the end of any session during his/her study in the Department and the University

 

SEMESTER EXAMINATION/DISSATISFACTION WITH RESULTS

Each course shall normally be completed and examined at the end of each semester in which it is offered. The examination shall be conducted as prescribed by the University Senate.

A student who is dissatisfied with the result of an examination affecting him/her may request for a review by submission of an application to the Head of the Department, the Dean and/or to the University Senate, which has the full prerogative to, or not to, effect any amendment of the said result after cross-examination. It should be noted that any student with frivolous, ill-motivated, or speculative complaint(s) on the result(s) shall be sanctioned.

 

DURATION OF DEGREE PROGRAMME/TRANSFER

The minimum number of years to be spent to be awarded the B.A. degree of the Department is 4 years and a student shall not spend more than 6 years in completing the programme.

Any student who seeks transfer to and from the department/university to another is free to do so. Request for a transcript for this and any other relevant purpose should be directed to the Admission Officer on fulfillment of every requirement.

 

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Head of the proposed Department shall direct and coordinate the academic and administrative activities of the Department in the name of the Vice-Chancellor through the Dean of the proposed Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Regular departmental meetings will be held to ensure that every faculty member is part of the decision-making process. At such meetings, decisions will be taken and duties/responsibilities will also be shared among members to ensuring that the goals of the programmes and those of the department are realised.

 

STUDENTS’ WELFARE

The welfare of students must definitely be important to the department as the department will operate a Staff/Students interactive forum where students are properly guided on all aspects of their academic development. Every level will be allocated a staff adviser, who handles all aspects of students’ academic development. Students with complex cases bothering on emotional, academic and physical challenges will be referred to the appropriate organ(s) of the university. Staff advisers will be required to counsel students on all aspects of their academic work including courses to be registered for, registration for carry-over courses, and attendance at lectures.

CURRICULUM FOR B.A. DEGREE IN PHILOSOPHY

Note C = Compulsory, R = Required, E = Elective

100 LEVEL HARMATTAN SEMESTER

 

100 LEVEL RAIN SEMESTER

 

 

200 LEVEL HARMATTAN SEMESTER

 

200 LEVEL RAIN SEMESTER

 

 

300 LEVEL HARMATTAN SEMESTER

   

300 LEVEL RAIN SEMESTER

  

 

400 LEVEL HARMATTAN SEMESTER

 

400 LEVEL RAIN SEMESTER

 

 

4.2  DESCRIPTION OF COURSES

100 LEVEL

PHL 101: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY – 3 UNITS (C)

This course will discuss, among other things, the nature of philosophy, its sources, origin, division, process, language, method and value to man and society. It will also address the historical developments through the ages with specific scholars and/or theorists.

 

PHL 102: PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS AND ANALYSIS – 3 UNITS (C)

In this course, attention will be centred on the diverse problems that the discipline of philosophy discusses, and tries to examine and understand. This will be done by devoting attention to such issues essentially from the stand-points of metaphysics and epistemology.

 

PHL 103: ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY – 3 UNITS (C)

This course will discuss the philosophical origin of human thoughts and cultures essentially from Ancient Greco-Roman civilisations. It will take into cognizance the analysis and understanding of prominent theorist like Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Epicurus and the Stoics, among others. Also, it will examine the characteristics and contributions of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the post-Aristotlenians and the Neoplatonists to the understanding of philosophy.

 

PHL 104: INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS (ELEMENTARY ETHICS) – 2 UNITS (C)

This course will introduce the students to the conceptual understanding of ethics and morality. It will briefly do a recap of historical study of ethics from the ancient, through medieval, modern to post-modern era. It will then discuss fundamental principles of ethics. It will examine the major ethical theories and promote an understanding of the concept of good, nature of right and wrong, and what doing good means. It will examine the principles of justice from different perspectives as well as the concept of conscience.

 

PHL 105: ARGUMENT AND CRITICAL THINKING – 3 UNITS (C)

This course is intended to develop students’ ability in order to examine, understand and assess arguments. Here, students will be taught how to understand what good reasoning or critical thinking is, as it requires skills and efforts, which will also include arguments from analogy, inductive and deductive reasoning, among others.

 

PHL 106: INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC – 2 UNITS (C)

This course is intended to develop students’ ability in logic and the quest to examine, understand and assess basic techniques for reasoning and evaluation of arguments in ordinary language.

 

PHL 108: PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIETY – 2 UNITS (E)

This course will examine the beginning, and the early stage of philosophy and society, which will take into consideration roles of some political theorists like Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Rousseau and others; it will also explore the values of thoughts, ethics and culture in establishing and sustaining society.

 

PHL 110: AXIOLOGY OR THEORY OF VALUE – 2 UNITS (R)

This will be an examination of the process of evaluation – value judgment and scientific knowledge, subjective and objective factors in the process of evaluation. Students will be introduced to the basic theories of aesthetics, works of art, the creative process, appreciation and criticism.

 

 

200 LEVEL

PHL 201: SYMBOLIC LOGIC – 3 UNITS (C)

Using the dictum of Alfred North Whitehead that “we can make transition in reasoning almost mechanically by the eye, which otherwise would call into play the higher faculties of the brain”, detailed analysis of predicate logic in symbolism to philosophical problems will be examined and discussed.

 

PHL 202: FURTHER LOGIC  – 2 UNITS (C)

Students will be made to understand the nature and analysis of the theory of quantification, definite descriptions and issues in contemporary logic.

 

PHL 203: INTRODUCTION TO METAPHYSICS – 2 UNITS (C)

This course will outline and examine the major concerns and scope of metaphysics, which will be tailored towards the understanding and treatment of some traditional metaphysical problems like the problem of being, existence and essence, existent and essence, act and potency, appearance and reality, change and permanence, freedom and determinism, among others.

 

PHL 204: METAPHYSICS – 3 UNITS (C)

The objective of this course will be to examine metaphysical physical knowledge, approaches to the understanding of metaphysics and the discourse of metaphysics as ontology. The following will be examined, namely: origin and historical development of Western ontology, metaphysical issues and traditions like existentialism, naturalism and determinism, and the examination of core scholars in metaphysics.

PHL 205: INTRODUCTION TO EPISTEMOLOGY – 2 UNITS (C)

It is concerned with the nature, possibility, scope and general basis of knowledge that could be discussed and examined historically and/or problematically, which will be used to make inquiries into the object of knowledge from the following areas: skepticism, memory, foundationalism, coherentism, rationalism, empiricism and truth.

 

PHL 206: MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY - 3 UNITS (C)

This course will thematise the main currents of philosophical thoughts from the third (3rd) century to the fourteenth (14^th) century A.D., which is seen as a bridge between two faces (ancient and modern) of philosophical epochs. Scholars from the backgrounds of Christianity, Islam and Judaism will be considered.

 

PHL 207: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY – 2 UNITS (C)

The thrust of this course is centred on the nature of African philosophy whereby it will examine the philosophical contributions of Africans or those inclined to Africans on issues like quest for history, identity, rationality, culture, language, morality and destiny, among others, which will also include the orientations and schools of thoughts in African philosophy with different scholars/theorists.

 

PHL 208: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY – 2 UNITS (C)

This course will discuss the notion of state and its significance as distinct from other forms of association, its reality as government and nation, its relation to the notion of citizen and citizenship. Ideologies like Marxism, socialism, fascism, capitalism and feminism, among others, will be examined and discussed.

 

PHL 209: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THEORIES – 2 UNITS (E)

Students will be taught and made to understand the main political theories that humanity has used over the years and still using in the running of human society like capitalism, communism, feudalism, fascism, communalism, democracy, plutocracy, theocracy and aristocracy respectively.

 

 

PHL 210: ETHICAL THEORIES – 3 UNITS (C)

This course will examine the main theories in the field of ethics like deontology, teleology, emotivism, intuitionism, Epicureanism, hedonism, situation ethics and utilitarianism, among other theories in ethics.

 

PHL 211: PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIAL CHANGE – 2 UNITS (E)

This will be a clear study and analysis of the origins of social change from both epistemic and metaphysical (ontic) points of view, which will include issues and changes related to marriage, family life, education, science and technology, economy, politics, religion and culture. Other issues will include how philosophy affects either positively and/or negatively the discourses about Westernisation, modernisation, globalisation, reformation and development.

 

PHL 212:  – PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN - 2 UNITS (E)

The centre-piece of this course will be a clear analysis of how children ought to assess, comprehend, interpret and make use of philosophy in their day-to-day activities. This will involve understanding of traditional logic from its elementary point of view essentially in verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning, and also modalities for value and discrimination.

 

PHL 214: DEMOCRATIC THEORIES – 2 UNITS (E)

The thrust of this course will be to examine the history, substantive issues and problems, looking at the origin and theories of the state, which will examine participation, apathy, arguments among the pluralists and others. Here, the individuals will be concentrated on when discussing democracy, democratic state and even communism.

 

 

300 LEVEL

PHL 301: EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY – 3 UNITS (C)

This course will examine among other things, the nature, discourse and scope of philosophical underpinnings immediately after the Enlightenment period beginning with Rene Descartes, Benedict Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Hume, Berkeley and Schopenhauer, among other scholars. Philosophical thoughts and traditions like idealism, empiricism, rationalism, positivism and pragmatism, among others will be duly considered and examined.

 

 

PHL 302: PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES – 2 UNITS (R)

The course will examine the nature and scope of philosophy of social sciences and the veracity of the claims like objectivity, law, hypothesis and explanation that social sciences try to answer concerning problems facing humanity with theories like structuralism, functionalism.

 

PHL 303: EPISTEMOLOGY (THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE) - 3 UNITS (C)

From the basic understanding of introduction to epistemology, fundamental discourses about and concerning knowledge and belief, knowledge from its traditional understanding, perception, opinions and judgement will be examined in more detailed form. Also, clear analysis on theories of epistemic justification apart from rationalist and empiricist thoughts will be addressed and examined.

 

PHL 304: LATE MODERN PHILOSOPHY (RECENT) - 3 UNITS (C)

This course will thematise the main currents of philosophical thoughts during the nineteenth (19^th) and twentieth (20^th) centuries. Here, we will pay great attention to the discourses of interpretative community, which are based on positivism, realism, British idealism, existentialism, Marxism, German idealism that involved a bit of atheism, among other traditions.

 

PHL 305: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ETHICS – 3 UNITS (C)

This course will extensively discuss and examine contemporary issues that affect man in his relationship with others in the society especially in Africa and particularly Nigeria, which will include capital punishment, abortion discourse, organ commercialisation, substance abuse, immoralism (pornography), tribalism, racism, child and gender abuse, and nuclear wars, among others, with clear analysis of ethical theories.

 

PHL 306: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION - 2 UNITS (R)

In this course, the students will be taught the nature, contents and its significance to human society. Philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Dewey, Awolowo and others with various schools of thought would be taught.

 

 

 

PHL 307: AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY (16^TH – 19^TH CENTURIES) - 3 UNITS (C)

This course, among other things, will examine certain issues and cultural problems like the problem of authentic identity that arose in the afore-mentioned centuries concerning philosophy in Africa. Here, it will examine issues of cultural universals, cross-cultural cognition, colonialism, challenge of self-definition and the emerging trends in the discourse of African philosophy.

 

PHL 308: PROFESSIONAL ETHICS - 2 UNITS (R)

This course will assess and examine the place and relevance of ethics as a field of study to other professions. This will be done with the application of ethical principles to commerce, business, engineering, medicine, journalism, law, and teaching, among others.

 

PHL 309: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY – 3 UNITS (C)

Students will be made to understand social and political ideas of classical scholars like Plato, Aristotle; the contractarians like John Locke, Jean Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes; and scholars like Karl Marx and Engels, John Rawls, and Iris Marion Young respectively.

 

PHL 310: MARXIST PHILOSOPHY - 2 UNITS (R)

This course will examine the political theory of Karl Marx and Engels, the revolution, dialectical materialism, economic determinist ideology, class struggle, and capitalism. The central themes of Marxist philosophy, e.g. historical materialism, freedom and necessity, alienation, surplus value, African orientations in Marxism will also be examined.

 

PHL 311: PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY - 2 UNITS (R)

This course will examine the basic and ultimate causes of the historical processes as a whole, which will critically assess the methodology and results of historical analysis and the great man theory. It will also look at the ideas, schools of thought and theorists like Plato, Augustine, Marx, Hegel, and water-sheds as discovered over the ages.

 

PHL 312: PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE - 3 UNITS (C)

This course will assess the nature, epistemology and methods and models of science, which will take into cognizance and include philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of physics, philosophy of nature and discourse and understanding of evolution, and the progress and limitation of scientific rationality.

 

PHL 313: PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION - 2 UNITS (R)

This course will examine the nature, scope and origin of religion with essentially the arguments for the existence and non-existence of a supreme being. Students will also be taught the philosophical scrutiny and elucidation of religious language, concepts and its problems.

 

PHL 314: PHILOSOPHICAL AESTHETICS - 3 UNITS (C)

The arts are an important part of human life and culture as they attract a large measure of attention and support from diverse groups and individuals. Hence, attention will be on the conceptual understanding of aesthetics and the integral perception towards a global quest for the profound meaning of life in the works of arts.

 

PHL 315: PHILOSOPHY OF NATURE - 2 UNITS (E)

This course will be a systematic study of the logic of the cosmos with issues like the red shift, evolutionary universe, origin of the cosmos, the search for the black holes and the search for extra-terrestial intelligence, among other issues.

 

PHL 316: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IN PHILOSOPHY – 2 UNITS (R)

This will be both theory and practical ways and manners by which students will be taught on how to write papers, seminar works, projects, essays, dissertations and theses. This will include the discourse of ethical rules in the avoidance of the crime of plagiarism.

 

PHL 317: AMERICAN PRAGMATISM - 2 UNITS (E)

A clear discussion and examination of the philosophies of William James, C. Sanders Pierce, John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Richard Posner and others will be carried out, which will lead to their histories, issues, methodologies and problems.

 

PHL 318: PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE - 2 UNITS (R)

The prerogative of this course will be to thematise on literary works could be philosophical and also how philosophy could be literary. Here, students will be introduced on how to provide conceptual framework for perceiving feelings and transforming realities, and to examine phenomena ideas through some important works, essentially African literature.

 

PHL 319: ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS - 2 UNITS (E)

This course will project and examine fundamental challenges that the human race is facing today essentially from the societies of the Global South and particularly Nigeria. The issues will include but not limited to the following: oil spillage, pollution of diverse kinds, sanitation in the society, garbage disposal essentially in cities and metropolitan centres, national orientation and the abuse/misuse of power and authority in the discharge of natural resources.

 

 

400 LEVEL

PHL 401: CONTEMPORARY ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY - 2 UNITS (R)

This course is characterised principally by the practice of analysis, that is, the breaking down of complexes into simple components. Hence, it will bring to fore the understanding and analysis of the thoughts of the following theorists, namely: Moore, Russell, Wittgeinstein, Carnap, Frege, Ayer and Quine, among other scholars.

 

PHL 402: ADVANCED METAPHYSICS - 2 UNITS (R)

This course will examine and deepen the understanding of students in some of the fundamental issues in metaphysical discourse that human knowledge about the noumena world. The following issues, namely: mind-body dichotomy, the problem of space and time, transmigration and/or immortality of the soul, cause and effect, life after death, destiny, determinism, fatalism and other issues, will be examined in projecting students’ ability in metaphysics.

 

PHL: 403: ADVANCED EPISTEMOLOGY – 3 UNITS (C)

The thrust of this course will be to understand the nature of knowledge from the vintage positions of justification, evidence, truth, belief in addition to diverse epistemologies of contemporary scholars like Lorraine Code, Gettier, Sosa and Chisolm, among others. It will into consideration the issue of certitude and skepticism in the discourse and history of epistemic claims.

 

PHL 404: TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY (SEMINAR) – 2 UNITS (C)

This course will examine the problem of definition in African philosophy along with the task and question of rationality in African philosophy. It will also assess African socialism and humanism essentially from the Ujaama conceptualisation, language and culture, witchcraft in African metaphysics, the analytic tradition and the nationalist ideological orientation with scholars like Wiredu, Hountondji, Bodunrin, Sodipo, Oladipo, Gyekye, Appiah and others.

 

PHL 405: CLASSICS IN ETHICS (SEMINAR) - 3 UNITS (C)

This course will give ample opportunities to the students to present their ideas and thoughts on special issues in some of the main classical theorists and scholars in the field of ethics. It will be the prerogative of the lecturer to select scholars like Aristotle, Kant, Ross and Mill, among others, and topics to be examined.

 

PHL 406: EXISTENTIALISM, PHENOMENOLOGY AND HERMENEUTICS - 2 UNITS (C)

An understanding of the philosophies and theories of Husserl’s phenomenology, along with the main features and theories of Kierkegaard, Sartre, Marcel, Buber and Camus in existentialism, in addition with Gaudamer and Harbermas’s hermeneutic theories will be discussed and examined in this course.

 

PHL 407: ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHIES - 2 UNITS (R)

This course will examine and discuss methods, goals and insights of philosophies of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Confucianism, in addition to their world-views, ethics and metaphysics.

 

PHL 408: MEDICAL ETHICS - 2 UNITS (R)

The ethical problem raised about abortion, mercy killing (euthanasia) and the ethics of medicine in general, the Hippocratic Oath, and medical experimentation will be examined

 

PHL 409: PHILOSOPHY OF LAW – 3 UNITS (C)

This course will elucidate the essence of law to human society since law is an aspect of man that dictates and or limits what ought to be done for his survival in relation to the discourse of justice, which will be thematised from theorists in the interpretative community.

 

PHL 410: COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY – 2 UNITS (R)

This course will study the similarities and differences in concepts, methods and theories among independent and/or relatively independent traditions of philosophical thoughts, which look into concepts like soul, mind, death, knowledge, truth, belief, liberty, equality, freedom, among others.

 

PHL 411: PHILOSOPHY OF MIND - 3 UNITS (C)

The thrust of this course will be to examine and discuss the problem of the concept of consciousness in relation to other issues of the mind. Attention will be centred on the understanding of various theorists’ opinions concerning the discourse of consciousness and its implications. Attention will be centred on mind-body dichotomy, materialist theory, dualism, parallelism and relationship between philosophy of mind and psychology in the discourse of consciousness.

 

PHL 412: FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY – 2 UNITS (R)

This course will examine the metaphysical and epistemological origins of gender discrimination essentially from the cultural, religious and social parlance. Feminist movements in the Western World and in Africa with figures like Simone de Beauvoir, Mary Wollstonecraft, Margaret Mead, Margaret Ekpo, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Queen Amina of Zauzau, among others, will be examined.

 

PHL 413: PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE - 2 UNITS (E)

This course will expose students to questions such as: What is language? What is the importance of language? What necessitates language? What are the problems of language? What is meaning? What are the theories of meaning and theories of reference, among others? All these will be examined through the specific theorists in the interpretative community.

 

PHL 415: POSTMODERNISM – 2 UNITS (E)

This course will examine the fundamental challenges of absolutism; relativity of epistemological and metaphysical axioms. The solutions to the problems of gender, knowledge race and cultural philosophies, among others, will also be considered.

 

PHL 417: ETHICAL ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – 2 UNITS (E)

This course will focus on the numerous ethical problems and issues, which border on ‘digital philosophy’ and crimes in cyber-space like advanced fee fraud, academic fraud (copy and paste syndrome), exploration of nudity and misuse of cyber-space, among other issues.

 

PHL 420: LONG ESSAY/PROJECT – 6 UNITS (C)

This will be an outstanding project/essay written by each student under the moderation and/or supervision of a supervisor on a scholar, a school of thought and/or a problem/issue in philosophy.

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF ANCILLARY COURSES

100 LEVEL (HARMATTAN SEMESTER)

GNS 101: COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH I – 2 UNITS (C)

This course handles topics relevant to the facilitation of effective communication via use of English. It treats the following topics, which are needed especially by the users of English as a second language for communicating effectively via both the oral and written media: study skills, concept formation, paragraph development, technical essay writing, letter writing, word formation, and the dictionary usage.

 

GNS 103: CONTEMPORARY HEALTH ISSUES – 2 UNITS (E)

This course will examine diet, exercise and health, nutritional deficiency diseases along with common and infectitious ailments and diseases that have greater effects on the people: malaria, hepatitis A and B, hypertension, heart failure, sexually transmitted diseases, sickle cell anaemia, cancer, and drug, among others.

 

GNS 105: ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – 2 UNITS (R)

This course will examine the nature of man in his relation to the cosmic environment. It will, among other issues, examine the nature of scientific methodology, relevance of science and technology to human society, along with renewable and non-renewable resources. In addition, it will address the effects of chemical and radio-chemical hazards to the environment.

 

 

FAA 101: FUNDAMENTALS OF DRAWING – 2 UNITS (E)

The course treats definition of art, concepts and contents with emphasis on mechanical, industrial, engineering and other technological functions of art. It also dwells on the development of visual literacy; studio exercises in the fundamental concepts of drawing in the study of line, plane, form, space, perspective, value, texture, colour, composition and technological drawing.

 

LIB 101: USE OF LIBRARY, STUDY SKILLS AND ICT – O UNIT (C)

This course, among other things, will examine the nature, history and scope of library and library education. It will discuss different types of library and library skills essentially reference services and library materials including e-learning. Students will be taught on the significance and importance of copyright, database resources, bibliographic citations and manners of referencing. It will take into cognizance the development of information and communication technology in all its devices and how such have greater inputs on the use and management of library.

 

ENG 101: INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE  - 2 UNITS C)

This course will focus on definitions, nature, qualities of language. Language and Linguistics; the basics of major discipline areas in English: (a) Micro-linguistics: Morphology, Syntax, Phonetics, Phonology, Stylistics, Semantics;(b) Macro-linguistics: Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, Psycholinguistics, Neurolinguistics, Ethnolinguistics, Historical Linguistics, Descriptive Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Comparative Linguistics. The basic aspects of these major discipline areas are to be introduced to students.

 

ENG 103: INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR – 2 UNITS (E)

The course is an introduction to grammar and its use in writing with particular emphasis on parts of speech, phrases, clause and sentence (types and functions); concord in English; tense, aspect and mood; direct and indirect speech; active and passive voice and their applications in effective writing and speaking.

 

ENG 105: BASICS OF SPOKEN ENGLISH – 2 UNITS (E)

This course is a practical course in spoken English with particular attention to stress, rhythm and intonation. Students are to be exposed to laboratory exercises on conversational English, using relevant audio-visual materials (e.g. tapes, records, video, films, etc).

 

LIT 106: INTRODUCTION TO PROSE LITERATURE – 2 UNITS (E)

This course will explore forms of prose such as the short story, the novella, the novel and their illustrative texts in English and the adaptation in Africa/Nigeria drawn from different cultural and literary backgrounds. Dominant thematic preoccupations and conventions as well as the techniques of representative authors from classical times to the present shall also be discussed.

 

LIT 109: INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA - 2 UNITS (E)       

This course is designed to expose students to drama in English with specific attention to be focused on general background, possible origin, distinguishing features and forms of drama from classical times to the present age (such as tragedy, comedy, tragic-comedy, melodrama, farce, epic, etc. and their characteristics (plot, character, plot, conflict, etc.) Dramatic conventions, themes and literary techniques employed by selected authors from different cultural backgrounds, such as Greek, Roman, Medieval English and African settings shall also be explored.

 

SOC 109: ELEMENTS OF SCIENTIFIC THOUGHTS AND METHODS – 2 UNITS (E)

This course will discuss the basic concepts, perception, facts, data, induction, deduction and empiricism. It will compare social and natural sciences methodology. And it will examine each routes to scientific explanation of inductive and deductive models, hypothesis and scientific laws, basic understanding of scientific paradigms and values, and biases in social sciences.

 

100 LEVEL (RAIN SEMESTER)

GNS 102: COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH II – 2 (C)

This course treats further topics on grammatical skills for specialised communication as well as for comprehension and summarisation. It especially creates the opportunity for learners to draw upon the skill acquired in GNS 101 towards enhancing effective oral and written communication by learners of English as a second language. The contents include: functional aspects of grammatical structures in science English, use of connectives in scientific report writing, outlining, tense and aspect in scientific writing, scientific project writing, reading comprehension, summarisation, and writing curriculum vitae.

 

GNS 122 : NIGERIAN PEOPLES AND CULTURE – 2 UNITS (R)

This course will be a careful study of Nigerian history, culture and arts, among others, during the pre-colonial era and the perception of Nigerians about their world. It will take into cognizance the evolution of modern Nigeria along with its economic, social, cultural, norms and values, environmental, political, religious and cultural challenges that have faced the country.

 

CSE 100: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY – 2 UNIT (R)

To be discussed in this course are basic parts of a computer, stored programme concept, computer development, algorithms: features, components; flow-charing, number systems, encoding and manipulation; and floating point representation of numbers, numerical coding of characters. Storage units – bits, bytes, words, blocks.

 

HIS 108: MAJOR WORLD CIVILISATIONS – 3 UNITS (E)

The course is a general examination and survey of some of the major world civilizations and some major contributions to historical developments. It will define Civilisation from the purview of historical scholarship and further outline the contributions of Egyptians and the Arab nations to world civilization; it will also survey the contributions of the Greeks, the Romans, the Chinese and the Europeans to further developments.

 

SOC 104: NIGERIAN HERITAGE – 2 UNITS (E)

This course introduces to the history and culture of the people of Nigeria. It analyses traditional economic, political and social belief systems of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria, and teaches sociological study of the major ancient and contemporary African civilisations in Nigeria like the Nok, Bornu, Yoruba, Ife-Benin and Edo, among others.

 

SOC 110: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS – 2 UNITS (E)

The course treats social institutions with consideration for political, economic, legal, religious, familiar and other institutions. It pays attention to comparative study of human societies and cultures with particular emphasis on institutional arrangements such as economy, politics, family, religion, education, art and health system. It also discusses socio-cultural change processes as well as the rise of radical perspectives relevant to contemporary situations.

 

ENG 102: BASIC WRITING SKILLS  - 2 UNITS (E)

This course will discuss forms of composition writing beyond essay with emphasis on their features and structures. These are report writing, long essays, minutes of meetings, various types of letters, invitations, public notices and announcements, feature articles and writing for magazines.  Basic writing skills/techniques, mechanics of writing and other technical matters connected with writing shall also be discussed.                                                                                                         

 

LIT 106: INTRODUCTION TO PROSE LITERATURE – 2 UNITS (E)

This course will explore forms of prose such as the short story, the novella, the novel and their illustrative texts in English and the adaptation in Africa/Nigeria drawn from different cultural and literary backgrounds. Dominant thematic preoccupations and conventions as well as the techniques of representative authors from classical times to the present shall also be discussed.

 

 

200 LEVEL (HARMATTAN SEMESTER)

GNS 211: INTRODUCTION TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP - 2 UNITS (R)

The thrust of this course will be to introduce students to the concept of entrepreneurship both in theory and praxis, which will lead to the understanding of opportunities, forms, financial planning, management and determining capital requirements of entrepreneurship. It will also create avenues for starting business on its feasibility; innovation, environmental, insurance and legal issues that have shaped entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

 

GNS 213: LEADERSHIP SKILLS – 2 UNITS (R)

The thrust of this course will be to examine the nature, scope and significance of leadership to human society. Here, emphasis will be laid on listening, conversation, emotional intelligence, breakthrough initiatives, gender and leadership, coaching and leadership, enrolment conversation and forming and leading teams in the society.

 

GNS 215: PEACE STUDIES AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION – 2 UNITS (R)

This course aims to introduce students to the origins, concepts, theories, perspectives and dynamics of the major guiding visions that have evolved as integral part of peace and conflict resolution studies discourse. This will also provide students with common language and precision in their understanding and skills for examining the dimensions, obstacles and opportunities in peace and to equip them with critical thinking on conflict resolution and provide appropriate alternative resolution mechanisms.

 

ENG 209:  ADVANCE ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1 – 3 UNITS (E)

This course deals with more specialised composition writing than the essay, e.g. reports, long essays, minutes of meetings, various types of letters, invitations, public Announcements, speech, feature articles, writing for magazines, memorandum etc. Attention will be paid to correct language use and other technical matters connected with these kinds of writing.

 

 

LIT 207: THE AFRICAN NOVEL – 3 UNITS (E)

This course pays attention to the main forms of the African prose fiction for an advance emphasis on their tenets, thematisation and aesthetic orientation to refracted realities in African societies.

 

SOC 211: GENDER AND SOCIETY – 2 UNITS (E)

The basic concept in the discourse on gender will be introduced. The distinction between gender roles and sex roles will be made with emphasis on how gender roles as socially construed. Various theories of gender will be presented and discussed. Gender issues as they affect women and children in Nigeria will also be examined.

 

SOC 213: SOCIAL WORK AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION – 2 UNITS (E)

This course will dwell on the meaning of ecology and ecosystem, the state of the environment in Nigeria’s ecological problems. It will discuss climate change, its causes and solutions. Environmental degradation waste/environmental management will also be discussed. The importance of environmental protection to the provision of environmental services will be discussed as well.

 

200 LEVEL (RAIN SEMESTER)

GNS 202: LOGIC, PHILOSOPHY AND HUMAN EXISTENCE – 2 UNITS (E)

This course will introduce students to the meaning and significance of philosophy to man and society, which will include the major branches of philosophy, epochs/periods in philosophy, schools of thoughts/ideologies, the nature of traditional logic and an introduction to some forms of symbolic logic.

 

GNS 212: ENTREPRENEURSHIP – 2 UNITS (R)

This course will build on the knowledge acquired from “Introduction to Entrepreneurship”. Here, there will be case demonstration and presentation on businesses as they affect economy of individuals and society in Nigeria environment. Different ventures and business sectors will be mentioned and analysed: animal husbandry, metal fabrication, carving, refrigeration, tailoring, carpentry, bakery, printing and others.

 

CSE 214: APPLICATION OF COMPUTER TO ARTS – 2 UNITS (R)

The thrust of this course will be to make students understand nitty-gritty and the relevance of computer knowledge to their discipline essentially as it affects philosophy and the liberal arts, among other disciplines.  This, in itself, will be centred on the entrepreneurial, research, publishing, networking and the application of various tools in the computer world to philosophy in the quest towards solving challenges of man and his society.