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By Carrie Pasternak ’08
Joellen Cope ’08 (Dillsburg, Pa.) and Margi Schierberl ’10 (West Hartford, Conn.) will be presenting research at the fourth annual New England Undergraduate Philosophy Conference held April 19 at Providence College in Rhode Island.
Cope, a mathematics and philosophy double major, wrote her paper for a philosophy of literature course taught by Alessandro Giovannelli, assistant professor of philosophy. Her topic is philosophers’ attempts to differentiate which writing can and can not be considered literature. Cope’s work focused on the theories of, Robert Stecker, professor philosophy at Central Michigan University. Stecker has written numerous books about the intersection of aesthetics and philosophy. Cope’s own theory gives criteria for determining the difference between literature and good literature.
Cope hopes to find out what other students are working on at the conference. “I have never been to anything like this for philosophy so it will be interesting to see what other students and other institutions focus on,” she says.
Schierberl, an English major, focused her paper on the metaphysical theory known as co-locationism. She worked closely with Julie Yoo, assistant professor of philosophy.
“The theory of co-location essentially provides a tenable metaphysical solution to certain seemingly paradoxical puzzles of identity,” says Schierberl. “[It] claims that it is possible for two distinct individuals to reside in one and the same spatial location.”
Schierberl found the controversial nature of the theory intriguing. In her paper, Schierberl discusses the possible answers co-location provides to certain identity puzzles and some of the objections to the theory.
After graduation, Cope will spend a year volunteering with Americorps NCCC, after which she plans to attend law school or graduate school for philosophy. She is a Marquis Scholar and is currently the executive chair for Lafayette Activities Forum. She has also been an orientation leader for the past two years and has served on the steering committee as an entertainment co-chair. She also traveled to Austria and Germany over the winter break in a three-week interim-session course.
A Trustee Scholar, Schierberl hopes to attend either law school or graduate school in philosophy after graduation. Currently, she is the vice president of the Student Movement Against Cancer (SMAC), the editor in chief of Lafayette’s unofficial magazine, The Monsieur, and she is a member of the Mock Trial team. Next year, she will study abroad at Oxford University.
Lafayette’s focus on close student-faculty interaction has made it a national leader in undergraduate research. Some of the College’s research programs include honors theses, independent study, and the distinctive EXCEL Scholars program. Many of the hundreds of students who participate in these programs each year share their work through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.