Comp. Lit. 85000 - Phenomenology and Existentialism: Philosophy, Literature, Critique
Prof. Crapanzano

This seminar will be devoted to readings in the philosophy, literature, the human sciences and literary criticism influenced by plenomenology and existentialism. We will consider such questions as intentionality of Consciousness, the priority of consciousness over existence or existence over consciousness, other minds, being/Being, nonbeing, bad faith, guilt, freedom, commitment, ethical responsibility, care, and despair. We will relate Existentialism and phenomenology to individualism, nihilism, war, and revolution. Particular attention will be given to the problem of language in phenomenological description and existential hermeneutics. Readings will include selections from Husserl, Sartre, Heidegger, Binswanger, Jaspers, and Camus as well as (but not limited to) works by Blanchot, Sartre, Camus, Robbe-Grillet and Ionesco. They will also include critical writings by Gaston Bachelard, Georges Poulet, and the Geneva group. Students will be encouraged to consider the relationship between phenomenology and existentialism and film, social and cultural description, and the early writings of Post-structuralists like Foucault and Derrida