Albert Camus and His Times

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course explores the work of Albert Camus in a historical, cultural, and political context. As one of the world’s preeminent literary figures and public intellectuals, Camus was profoundly engaged in political events and debates before, during, and after the Second World War. Through his career and work, we can gain a deeper understanding of the interwar period, the Nazi occupation of France, the early Cold War period, and the Algerian War. We will read a broad selection of Camus’s texts, covering the novel, the short story, essays, speeches, and journalism. We will analyze these works in relation to historical events and phenomena, in addition to the work of Camus’s contemporaries, including Jean-Paul Sartre, George Orwell, Hannah Arendt, and Arthur Koestler.