| Call Number | 17465 |
|---|---|
| Day & Time Location |
M 2:10pm-4:00pm 301M Fayerweather |
| Points | 4 |
| Grading Mode | Standard |
| Approvals Required | None |
| Instructor | Stathis Gourgouris |
| Type | SEMINAR |
| Method of Instruction | In-Person |
| Course Description | The impetus of this course is to rethink the trajectory, conditions, and prospects of humanism, with a consideration of how such rethinking contributes to the reconfiguration of the Humanities in the present time. The impact of anti-humanist thinking in contemporary theory is taken as a point of departure, as a challenge that must be overcome. Hence, certain classic writings of Marx and Heidegger (and responses by Althusser, Derrida, and Said) are examined in detail in the initial 4 weeks of the course.However, in order to field this challenge in its full epistemological range, we will also engage with various discourses that respond to the question “what is human?” including recent discussions of animality (Derrida, Agamben, Haraway) and the exceptional challenge of feminist epistemology to traditionally gendered humanist assumptions (Irigaray, Haraway). The last third of the course examines what affirmations the question “what is human?” – though not answerable as such – mobilizes in three specific epistemological domains: psyche, pedagogy, politics. In this respect, the focus falls upon Castoriadis’ monumental response to Aristotle and Freud, as well as Derrida’s classic treatise on friendship. The course ends with a preliminary discussion of theories of the “post-human” in cognitive science, which will resonate against the discussions in the beginning of the course. This is a graduate course, open to exceptional senior undergraduates. A kind of basic background in Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud is assumed. The course addresses concerns of students throughout the humanities, but also certain theoretical tracks in the arts and humanistic tracks in the social sciences. It will also be of interest to students in the biological sciences, neuroscience, or cognitive science, who seek an opportunity to reflect on their disciplines from a philosophical standpoint. |
| Web Site | Vergil |
| Department | Comparative Literature and Society, Institute for |
| Enrollment | 15 students (20 max) as of 9:06PM Tuesday, December 17, 2024 |
| Subject | Comparative Literature & Society |
| Number | GU4090 |
| Section | 001 |
| Division | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences |
| Section key | 20243CPLS4090G001 |