CURRICULUM VITAE
Dr. Seth M. Holtzman
Assistant Professor of Philosophy,
and Acting Chair of the History Department
2300 West Innes Street
Catawba College
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 637-4229 (office)
(704) 636-8626 (home)
(704) 762-4170 (cell)
sholtzma@catawba.edu
EDUCATION
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ph.D.: A Philosophical Reexamination of Presupposition; M.A., B.A.
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
Metaphysics, Epistemology, Philosophical Method
AREAS OF COMPETENCE
Modern Philosophical and Cultural History, Value Theory, Philosophy of Religion, Ethics, Logic,
Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language
PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Awarded a Teagle Seed Grant by the American Academy of Religion, 2014
Acting Chair of the History Department, 2015-present
Chair of the Religion & Philosophy Department, fall 2007-2015
Interim Chair of the Religion & Philosophy Department, spring 2007
Granted academic tenure at Catawba College, February 2004
Helped develop a proposal at Catawba College that won a 2 million dollar Lilly Endowment grant for
theological exploration of vocation, 2002
Co-recipient of Templeton Foundation grant to support a course on science, religion and philosophy, 1999
Griffith Award (best philosophy paper), Southern Society for Philosophy & Psychology, 1997
Chosen to attend the 1996 Teaching Seminar for Advanced Graduate Students,
American Association of Philosophy Teachers Conference
Adjunct Instructor, Philosophy & Religious Studies Dept., Murray State University, 1996-98
Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities, 1984
PUBLICATIONS
"E. Maynard Adams”
Encyclopedia of American Philosophy, eds. John Lachs & Robert Talisse. NY: Routledge, 2007
"C. I. Lewis”
Encyclopedia of American Philosophy, eds. John Lachs & Robert Talisse. NY: Routledge, 2007
”Everett W. Hall”
Encyclopedia of American Philosophy, eds. John Lachs & Robert Talisse. NY: Routledge, 2007
"Science and Religion: The Categorial Conflict"
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 54 (2), pp.77-99, October 2003
COURSES PREPARED TO TEACH
Advanced: Metaphysics; Epistemology; Philosophy & the Integration of Knowledge; Philosophy of
Religion; Philosophical Knowledge: Necessary Truth in Philosophy, Ancient Political Philosophy
Intermediate: Principles of Philosophy; Philosophy and Religion in Literature; Value Theory;
Morality and Law; The Story of Philosophy
Introductory: Philosophy and Culture; Critical Thinking; Humanities; Introduction to Logic; Ethics;
Environmental Ethics; Finding Meaning in Life; Connecting Knowledge Across Disciplines
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Catawba College, 1998-present:
Advanced: Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy & the Integration of Knowledge (Honors interdisciplinary course)
Genes, Genesis, & God (Templeton award), Science & Religion: A New Perspective (Honors Templeton course),
My Big Fat Greek Heritage: Philosophy & Politics in Ancient Greece (Honors, study abroad unit in Greece)
Intermediate: Philosophy and Religion in Literature, Principles of Philosophy (intro for majors) ,
The Story of Philosophy (history of philosophy), Paris (study abroad unit in Paris)
Introductory: Freshman Orientation, Freshman Seminar, Critical Thinking, Ethics, Introduction to Logic,
Philosophy and Culture (intro for non-majors), Environmental Ethics, Finding Meaning in Life,
Connecting Knowledge Across Disciplines
Murray State University, 1996-98:
Western Humanities Tradition, Humanities in the Modern World,
Introduction to Logic,
Introduction to Philosophy, Philosophical Knowledge: Necessary Truth in Philosophy
University of North Carolina, 1987-94:
Introduction to Philosophy, Introductory Symbolic Logic, Morality and Law, Philosophy of Religion,
Ethics of Peace, War and Defense (teaching assistant)
Governor's School: in summers; North Carolina, 1988-91, 1993-94; in Arkansas, 1996-98
A course in philosophy in the integration of knowledge for gifted high school students
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Refereed article for Journal for the History of Analytic Philosophy, 2013.
Helped administer the E. M. Adams Prize ($50,000) for best paper addressing the philosophical views of E.
Maynard Adams, 2013
Invited to a symposium on critical thinking at the University of South Carolina--Beaufort, as part of their
examination of their Quality Enhancement Plan, 2012
Rowan Regional Medical Center Ethics Committee, 2012 to present
Helped plan, run, and taught a focus group at, “Redesigning Our Future: A National Environmental Summit”
for high school students, Catawba College, summers 2011-13
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Center for Faith & the Arts, a local non-profit arts organization, 2011-12;
Vice-Chair, 2010-11; Board member, 2009-10
Helped conceive, plan, run, and led a workshop in 2008 Faith, Spirituality, and Environmental Stewardship
conference at Catawba College’s Center for the Environment; follow-up conference in 2009
Moderated a session on indexicals at the APA-Pacific Division meeting, 2007
Reviewed The Moral of the Story, by Nina Rosenstand, for McGraw-Hill, 2006
Reviewed Morality Play: Case Studies in Ethics, by Jessica Pierce, for McGraw-Hill, 2003
Planned a Catawba College Forum on the ethics of care; speakers: Rosemarie Tong, Laura Duhan Kaplan of
the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2002
Planned a Catawba College Forum panel on Science and Religion, 2000
Served as editor, Maynard Adams: Southern Philosopher of Civilization, Dr. Glenn Blackburn
Richard M. Griffith Memorial Award Committee, Southern Society for Philosophy & Psychology, 1998-2000
Organized, coordinated, and conducted a UNC-CH Philosophy department-sponsored project to audiotape
20 discussions with E. M. Adams on philosophy, political and historical events, and his life for the
UNC-CH Southern Historical Collection, 1995-96.
Assisted a UNC-CH Philosophy Department project to recover and restore 30-year old film interviews
conducted by the Philosophy Department with important philosophers for UNC-CH archives, 1993-94.
Served as an event planner for "Conversations with E. M. Adams", series of videotaped interviews of
Dr. Adams with former UNC-system President William C. Friday, Dr. Warren Nord, and myself,
1993, as a UNC-CH Bicentennial event sponsored by the Philosophy Department.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Association of Philosophy Teachers; North Carolina Philosophical Society
PRESENTATIONS AND TALKS
“Original Sin and Selfishness”, Catawba College Forum panel discussion, 2011
“Problems with Outcome-Based Assessment in Philosophy Courses”, workshop given jointly with Dr. Richard Prust,
North Carolina Philosophical Society, 2011; also chaired the session
“A Philosophy for the Environmental Movement”, Faith, Spirituality & Environmental Stewardship conference, Catawba
College, 2008; American Association of University Women, Salisbury branch, 2008 John Calvin Presbyterian Church, 2001
“The Threat to Rationality in the 2004 election”, Catawba College Forum on the election, 2004
"Liberal Education: What Is Its Purpose?", Alpha Chi Honorary Society Induction, Catawba College, 2001
"Public Ceremony & the Need for Meaning", Tri-Beta Honorary Society Induction, Catawba College, 2000
"On Science and Religion”, Catawba College Forum panel discussion, 2000
"What a Presupposition Tells Us"
Kentucky Philosophical Association, Fall 1997; Tennessee Philosophical Association, 1997
"Reexamining Presupposition"
Southern Society for Philosophy & Psychology, 1997; Tennessee Philosophical Association, 1996; Intermountain
Philosophy Conference, 1996; Murray State University, 1996; Kentucky Philosophical Association, Spring 1996
"The Cultural Context of Philosophy", Murray State University, 1995
"Philosophy and the Integration of Knowledge"
American Association of Philosophy Teachers Conference, 1996; Intermountain Philosophy Conference, 1995;
NC Governor's School, Winston-Salem, NC, July 1995
WEBSITES
www.catawba.edu/academic/religionphilosophy – designed, created, and maintain the website of the
Religion & Philosophy Department, Catawba College, 1999-present,
www.emadams.unc.edu – helped plan, create, and write content for E. M. Adams website, 2008-present,
sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill, hosted by the Program in the Humanities and Human Values
http://faculty.catawba.edu/sholtzma – designed and maintain my personal webpage, 1999-present
www.units.muohio.edu/aisorg/ – the syllabus for my course on Philosophy & the Integration of Knowledge
is included in the Peer-reviewed Syllabi page of the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
“Author Tries to Make Sense of Life in Memoir”, book review, Salisbury Post, Feb. 19, 2012
“Best Way to Rate Teachers is Messier”, op-ed column, Charlotte Observer, April 21, 2011
“A Film for the Soul”, film review, Salisbury Post, April 24, 2010
ACADEMIC SERVICE
CATAWBA COLLEGE: Emergency Response Group, 2012-14; Admissions Committee, 2012-14, 2015-16;
Curriculum Committee, 2000-03, 2009-11; Freshman advisor, 1999-2001, 2003-05, 2008-09;
Planning committee, Faith, Spirituality, & Environmental Stewardship Conference, 2007-08;
Started and directed the Club of the Religion & Philosophy Department, 2002-present;
Academic Planning and Assessment Committee, 2006-08; Instructional Support Committee, 2005-06;
Conducted interviews for First Family Scholarships, spring and fall 2007, 2009, 2010;
Academic Policies and Standards Committee, 1998-2000, 2003-05; IRB, 1998-99, 2003-05, IRB Chair,
1999-00; Scholarship subcommittee, 2003-05; subcommittee on revised audit policy, chair, 2004-05;
Alcohol Commission: evaluated alcohol policies, 1999-2000; Technology Advisory Committee, 1999-2001
Lifelong Learning Program Advisory Board, 1999-2000; 2001-02; Faculty Colloquium co-chair, 2000-02;
Substantially restructured the philosophy curriculum 1998-2001;
MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY: Directed the Philosophy Club, 1996-98