This course focuses on two important movements in nineteenth and twentieth century philosophy, existentialism and phenomenology. Readings might include works by Kierkegaard, Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Beauvoir, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Levinas, and Fanon, as well as contemporary readings by feminist, critical race, and queer theorists working within these traditions. Students will also encounter some of the great works of existentialist fiction and cinema. Themes that may be explored include the relationship between self and other, the tension between freedom and responsibility, the possibility of ethics after World War II, and the problem of ethical and political commitment in an alienating world.
Recommended Background
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