Hermeneutics Seminar II

Bimonthly September – May 2024-25


What will you learn?


This online seminar will provide an entry into contemporary hermeneutic thought through the interrelation of the topics of metaphor and hermeneutics. Understanding the relevance of metaphor to hermeneutics will enrich appreciation of hermeneutics’ depth and application. If as Paul Ricoeur writes, metaphor may lie at the origin of categorization, then may hermeneutic interpretation go all the way down as well? The practical relevance of hermeneutics will be shown throughout in fields such as digital technology, organizational behavior, and justice.



Who should join?


Hermeneutics Seminar II is designed to be a more advanced course for graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Some background in hermeneutics is encouraged but not required. There are separate links at the bottom right of this page for more specific program requirements and for registration and payment.


A certificate will be awarded upon successful completion of the course.


The deadline for registration is Saturday, September 14, 2024.




When will the Seminar take place? 



September 28

November 16

January 11

March 8

May 10


Why Hermeneutics?


Hermeneutics offers an approach to interpretation geared toward understanding, a theme that may seem ordinary and banal but is quite sophisticated and greatly in demand in a world striven by opposition and conflict. Hermeneutics has been applied in numerous fields, including not only philosophy but anthropology, education, gender studies, history, intercultural dialogue, international development, law, literature, medicine, natural science, psychology, race studies, religious studies, rhetoric, social science, social and political theory, and translation studies. The 20th century intellectual heirs of hermeneutics include Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Paul Ricoeur. 




Course Instructors (See Bios)


John Arthos

Anna Borisenkova

Michael Johnson

Fernando Nascimento

George Taylor

David Utsler


Many of the instructors have committed to attend all or most of the class sessions and office hours, even when they are not the class instructor themselves. All of the instructors have committed to participating in office hours on the day they teach.