First-Year Interdisciplinary Seminar: Masters and Servants

(4 Credits)

This course will explore the tension between masters and servants as portrayed in literature, history, philosophy and film. Writers have depicted this relationship to examine not only relationships of power, but also as a strategy for criticizing social conventions and literary styles. In the 19th and 20th centuries, this dynamic describes more than power relationships. The rapport of servant and master influences our conceptions of knowledge and psychology, defining our mental lives, as well as our social relationships. Through our readings, discussions, and essays, we will seek to discover how this relationship animates our understanding of the world and ourselves.