Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century European Philosophy

(4 Credits)

A survey of philosophy on the European continent in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, beginning with German Idealism and proceeding through Marxism, existentialism, phenomenology, critical theory, and structuralism. This course will introduce students to many of the major thinkers of this period, including Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Arendt, Sartre, Horkheimer, Adorno, and Foucault. These philosophers stand in the background of a great deal of contemporary political, social, and literary theory: their reactions to and criticisms of the Enlightenment's celebration of reason continue to challenge modern society.