What We Do

As a land-grant university, Texas A&M has a unique relationship and responsibility to the state of Texas. Although we can easily see how disciplines like engineering and agriculture can fulfill that mission, it is not always easy to see how the liberal arts might accomplish this task. Literacy and robust critical and creative thinking, hallmarks of a liberal arts education, are skills we in the humanities can offer to our communities. With the support and help of Texas A&M colleagues, Daniel Conway, present and former students from Texas A&M representing different disciplines (Philosophy, Hispanic Studies, English, and Education), the staff in the PP&O office, and faculty from other universities in Texas (in particular, Sam Houston State and the University of Hawaii), P4C Texas, under the direction of Claire Katz, holds pedagogy workshops for teachers, has established outreach activities with local schools, and offers two weeks of philosophy summer camp, a week for middle school students and a separate one for high school students. In addition to these outreach efforts in our local community, we have also partnered with LAUNCH: Honors and Undergraduate Research in order to provide college credit for undergraduates facilitating P4C programs in local schools. In time, we hope to be able to offer both graduate and undergraduate certificates in Philosophy for Children.