The Philosophes, the Encylopédie, and Enlightenment Movement

3 credits · Undergraduate

This course explores the range, depth and commitment of the work of several leading figures of the eighteenth-century intellectual movement that came to be known as Les Lumières in France, the Enlightenment in Scotland, Aufklärung in Germany, and Illuminismo in Italy. The course takes a primary interest in the French philosophes, writers, and thinkers who contributed directly to the Encyclopédie, but some consideration will also be given to the movement in these other European countries. Course readings will include a nucleus of articles from the Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers, whose publication was overseen by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert from 1751-1772, augmented by a host of other works of major philosophical, scientific, aesthetic, cultural, and historical importance. FORMATS: Seminar