Welcome Message from The Head of Department- Philosophy
On behalf of the entire staff and students, I respectfully welcome you to the Department of Philosophy website, University of Calabar where knowledge is advanced through research and teaching. Here we groom students both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels for manpower and national development through the promotion of creativity, hard work, self-actualization, scholarship and national consciousness. Our curriculum is structured to underpin issues in logical reasoning and argumentation, values, criticality, leadership, environment, feminism and knowledge in general. Tutelage under this academic environment, our graduates/products are properly equipped to significantly contribute to the corporate and academic world.
Owing to the intricate nature of our contemporary society there is an increased demand for manpower that can cope with the complexities of the Postmodern world, hence the need for competent personnel that can exude logical and critical skills. This insatiable quest for employers of labour to source for skilled labour that is logically and critically compliant has raised the stakes in philosophical education and training. At the risk of sounding immodest, we are glad to say that we have not been lagging in this regard.
More so, there have been hues and cries that some societal aberrations and problems stem from a flawed and distorted ethical orientation. We can affirm that as a Department that is poised to impact the citizenry, we have a repertoire of Programmes and Courses both at the Undergraduate and Postgraduate spheres that can correct these societal anomalies by re-orientating our students’ mindset.
We have and will continue to keep faith in our vision and mission by also servicing the entire University through the Centre for General Studies (CGS) by teaching Philosophy and Logic, History and Philosophy of Science, Anti-Corruption and Citizenship Education. This academic ritual has helped to buoy the intellectual and scientific consciousness of graduates from the entire University and beyond.
We are also proud to state that we have come to be perceived as the hub of Philosophical discourse in Nigeria because of our strong national and international presence and enviable rating by the NUC in the comity of Philosophy Departments in Nigeria.
As an organic unit in the University, we will continue to explore novel ways to live our mission and philosophy. We also pledge to commit ourselves to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that might come our way while also trying to contend with the numerous challenges that locally and globally confront higher education today.
Thanks so much.
Prof. Kyrian Ojong
Head of Department
Mission / Vision / Philosophy / Objective
Mission
I. Advancement of knowledge through research
II. Dissemination of knowledge through teaching
III. Training of competent manpower for national development
IV. Service to the community
V. Promotion of creativity, hard work, self actualization, patriotism and national consciousness.
Vision
In April 1975, the then Federal Military Government of Nigeria announced that as part of the Third National Development Plan, new universities would be established at seven selected locations throughout the country.
The vision of the programme of the new universities included the following:
The promotion of national unity; self-reliance and evolution of a just and egalitarian society, industrialization and improvement of the standard of living of the people;
Correction of educational imbalance and the development of faculties according to the economic pre-occupation of the area;
Production of requisite manpower endowed with appropriate knowledge, skill and understanding to meet the present social, moral and economic needs of the people;
Creation of a society that is free from corruption and exploitation by able leaders imbued with a sense of justice to all. Creating a notion of educated men and women who are oriented towards service to their localities, their country and to the wider society.
Developing strong centres for the promotion of scholarship, research and services; developing universities that involve themselves in community service through active participation in local development activities as well as socio-cultural activities.
Philosophy
The philosophy of the programme is to acquaint the students with the history of ideas in the area of philosophy. Particular emphasis is placed on the bearing this history has on the development of ideas within the African context. It is hoped that through this study students would be enabled to mature and develop their capacity for critical judgment on issues that deserve individual and collective assessment and come up with solutions that would add to the advancement of knowledge and overall societal progress.
The Department of Philosophy thus offers courses designed to help the student develop his own capacity to reflect intelligently on questions of fundamental and lasting significance by focusing on the ideas of some of the world's philosophers as well as an empirical understanding of his own society. Students are trained to appreciate African values, philosophies and world-view, to encourage self-esteem, patriotism and national consciousness.
The philosophy of the programme, therefore, is to impart to students the requisite qualities that will prepare them to take their rightful place in the national and global scheme of things. We endeavour in our teachings and interactions with our students to instil in them the spirit of self-confidence, creativity, pragmatism, analytic bent of mind, positive and constructive criticalness, decisiveness, pro-activeness, vision, resilience, productiveness and high moral quality.
Students are groomed in critical thinking, tools of logic and argumentation as a springboard for human, social and cultural development.
Objective
To train students who understand the basic issues of human existence and who understand that the purpose of learning is to be molded into sound moral human beings.
(ii) To train students on how to use the tools of logic, argumentation to avoid fallacies and errors which often undermine our aspiration to grow as a nation both in the religious, economic, political and social life.
(iii) The students will be trained to appreciate African values, philosophies and ways of doing things with a view to upholding the identity of the African people.
(iv) To train students who are knowledgeable enough to handle academic issues and to analyze critical human situations that may confront them in their personal life or in the work place.
(v) To train students who will come out better equipped to teach both at the secondary and tertiary levels of our educational system.
(vi) To train students who are imbued with sufficient patriotism to provide leadership at different leadership levels.
(vii) To educate students on the need to be broadminded, global in perspective and at home with current developments in global trends in computer and information technologies.
(viii) To train students who seek the truth, establish and disseminate the truth.
(ix) To inculcate the need for entrepreneurial skills in our students. This will make for creativity and self reliance.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
UME
1. Candidates with five 'O' level credits (including English) in WAEC or NECO are admitted through UME to a four year degree programme.
DIRECT ENTRY
2. Candidates with diploma in philosophy, religion or theology are
admitted through direct entry into a three year degree
programme.
N/B: All candidates must sit and pass Post UME Aptitude Test as a
pre-condition for admission.
DEPARTMENTAL JOURNAL
The Department publishes SOPHIA: AN AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS with the ISSN 1119 443X. The journal is published twice a year April and November and articles published are indexed/abstracted in African Journal Online (AJOL). The journal welcomes articles in any branch of philosophy and related disciplines, with special interest in articles which encourage philosophizing within the African context.
CAREER PROSPECTS FOR GRADUATES OF PHILOSOPHY
A well trained philosophy graduate should be a versatile and utility person who can use his ideas for self-development and human progress. The philosophy graduate is well trained to fit well into the following work areas:
(1) Diplomatic Service: The philosophy graduate can serve as a diplomat, an officer in the external affairs ministry, a strategist in the different areas of foreign services.
(2) Military and Paramilitary Forces: The philosophy graduate is trained to know the latent purposes of warfare, diplomacy, the psychology of international relations and internal security including community policing.
(3) Oil Companies: The philosophy graduate is well suited to work in the personnel departments and other strategic positions that require high sense of diplomacy and good public relation skills.
(4) Banks: The philosophy graduate is trained to be good managers, trust worthy and morally sound, and as such, can work in the bank; especially in the personnel division.
(5) Customs and Immigrations: The philosophy graduate is trained to be meticulous, visionary strategist, keen observer with uncanny strength of character, which disposes him/her to be the first choice of the customs and immigrations during job recruitments.
(6) Public Relation Companies and Advertising Agencies: the philosophy graduate from available facts, performs better in public relations and the advertising business, owing to his training on how to draw distinctions between what is fallacious and what is genuine.
(7) Journalism: the philosophy graduate is trained to be critical, unambiguous, “cogent and fluent; hence, he can be a successful journalist whether in the electronic or print media.
(8) Non-Governmental Organizations: The philosophy graduate can work with the NGO, or may establish an NGO for the pursuit of specialized ideals in the society. NGOs attract subventions, funds and aids from government and foreign bodies.
History
The Department of Philosophy, University of Calabar took off during the 1975/1976 Academic Session. This was when the University of Calabar gained autonomy as a full-fledged institution, and no longer the Education Faculty of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The Department was fused with the Religious Studies unit, and for three years of its inception, running a combined honours degree in Religious Studies and Philosophy with a reasonable number of academic staff and students in both units.
However, after a period of a combined honours programme, there was a need for each of the Units to commence a separate programme from the Bachelors level to Master and Doctorate levels respectively.
The Department from inception has been headed in quick succession by the following scholars: Dr Laoye, Dr M. O. Ene, Prof. N.S.S. Iwe, Dr. Ekarika, Prof. E. M. Uka, Dr. E. B. Udoh, Rev.Fr. Prof. I. I. Asouzu, Prof. F. M. Mbon, Prof. C. O. Ijiomah, Prof. P. I. Alozie, Prof. A. F. Uduigwomen, Prof. G. O. Ozumba and, Prof.(Mrs.) Dorothy NwanyinmaOluwagbemi-Jacob.
Indeed, the history of the Department is incomplete without mentioning the prolonged period of struggles for the split of the twin Department into two separate Departments. It is gratifying that the Senate of the University of Calabar granted the formal approval of the splitting of the Department into two independent Departments in 2010. Consequently, the hitherto twin department is now known as the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Religious and Cultural Studies respectively.
The academic staff strength of the Department currently stands at 29 including five full professors, two readers, two senior lecturers and other ranks. It also has about 12 non-academic staff.
The Department has, over the years adopted the policy of recommending her outstanding graduates for recruitment as Graduate Assistants and Assistant Lecturers, and nurturing them up to PhD level. Hence, the majority of academic staff are products of the Department. The student population at the undergraduate level currently stands at about 280; hence the Department has students – lecturer ratio of 14:1.
The Graduate Studies programme in Philosophy started in 1986/1987 academic session for the Masters of Arts, while the PhD program began in the 1989/1990 academic session. The student population in both programmes presently stands at about 140 indicating students – Lecturer ration 11:1. On the whole, the Department has produced many eminent persons who presently occupy responsible and influential positions in society.
The Department has equally served and is still serving the University as a service Department since the introduction of General Studies Courses by the National Universities Commission (NUC). GSS 1121/1122 (Philosophy and Logic) unit of the General Studies courses is domiciled in the Department, while the Department teaches the GSS 1131/1132 (History and Philosophy of Science) along with other Lecturers in the sciences and related Departments.
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