PHI 308 - 20th Century Continental Philosophy: From Phenomenology to Post-Modernism (1)

Now that it has drawn to a close, we can begin to make sense of philosophy in the 20th Century. What makes it distinctive? Which topics and figures dominated it and why? How does it carry forth ideas from the 19th Century, and what might it be pointing towards in the future? In this course, we will focus on Continental thought which arises primarily in continental Europe, rather than Analytic philosophy which is more common in Anglo-American departments. We will read about major philosophical movements from the 20th century, including phenomenology, existentialism and black existentialism, feminist phenomenology, and postmodernism as represented by thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Simone de Beauvoir, Franz Fanon, Hannah Arendt, and Jacques Derrida. Among other key topics to be covered, we will focus on existence, anxiety, death, and meaning. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Offered every second or third year.
(Humanities) (Writing Encounter)