Soazig Le Bihan

Soazig Le Bihan is Associate Professor of Philosophy and coordinator of the pre-law program at the University of Montana. Her engaged work with students emphasizes the practical relevance of philosophy.

1. Why did you choose to ask students to do civic engagement projects?

The general public typically does not know what we do as philosophers, and understandably so. Students are no exceptions. One preconception that many have about our discipline is that we think about very abstract issues without practical relevance, like the existence of God, the nature of reality, or whether we are brains in a vat. Of course, metaphysics is an important and valuable part of philosophy, but that’s not all we do. When I teach ethics, my main goal is to have my students understand that there are entire subdomains of our discipline that have direct practical relevance. I choose to ask my students to complete civic engagement projects to make sure that they fully understand that ethics is not a fancy game of abstract thinking: it has direct consequences on the ways they engage with others and the world at large. By applying ethical thinking first-hand to real-life situations, I hope to have my students understand that philosophy is a way of life—the examined life.

2. Which of your courses get students out of the classroom?

Students get out of the classroom for my “Introduction to Ethics” course. I am also thinking about getting my pre-law students to get out of the classroom (“Pre-law Seminar” and “Morality and the Law”), as well as my students in my “Philosophy of Ecology” class.

3. What project(s) do your students do?

There are almost always projects focusing on poverty, hunger, the elderly, animals, and the environment. Many projects also gravitate around veteran issues. More rarely, students are interested in mental health, civics, or obesity. I require that the projects be nicely contained. Random volunteering might be useful, but does not count as a project. I require that my students design, plan, and complete their project so that they obtain clear results and hopefully some real sense of accomplishment.

4. Give an example of a successful project.

Two of my students built a community garden for elderly people at one of the senior residences in town. They built the whole thing from scratch, including the box. All the materials they used, from the wood to the plants, were donated by small businesses in town. The students had a great time doing it. The nicest part of the project was that the residents gave the students advice on how to proceed. The residents were much more knowledgeable about gardening and farming that any of the students. It became a common effort, which is all the better for everyone involved.

5. What do you think students gain from doing this civic engagement?

The feedback I get from students is that they get a sense of how projects that seem small can matter a lot. They also get a sense of how thinking ethically and acting ethically go hand in hand. Going back to the community garden example (above), what was really important to the students was that the residents got to help. The students did not want to just come, help, and leave. They wanted to interact with the residents. They wanted the residents to participate in what would then be a common project. They had gotten that idea from the class readings on how we ought to see the elderly not as a problem but as a highly valuable resource of knowledge and wisdom. This was a perfect, and quite beautiful, application of ethical thinking.

6. What does the civic engagement project offer to wider communities?

Obviously, each project brings something positive to the community, whether it is fund raising or volunteering hours. More generally, I believe that students get a chance to see community service and volunteering as something more than a résumé-building tool. They understand the reasons behind the effort and the meaning of successful volunteering better. As a result, they come out of the course as engaged citizens for the right reasons and with the right kinds of expectations. The wider communities obviously directly benefit from this change.

7. If someone wanted to do these projects at their own institution, what steps or resources would you recommend?

I found other faculty involved in engaged philosophy to be extremely helpful. Prof Monica Janzen provided me with everything I needed to get things going easily. It was truly remarkable. I also got help from the Office of Civic Engagement on the University of Montana campus. They contacted several organizations in advance, and I had some good contacts as well as great suggestions for projects as a result.

8. What do you like about teaching this way?

Philosophy feels real.

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