Topic: Literature and Self-Knowledge
| Time | Days | Location | Instructor | GER | Credit | OPUS Class Number | Syllabus (Tentative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10:40am-11:30am | MWF | Callaway Center N106 | Schey, Taylor. | FWRT. | 4 | 4103 | TBA. |
Content: In this course we will examine how the reading and writing of literature allows one both to learn about one's "self" and troubles the very concept of the "self." By looking at texts that span across different literary genres-poetry, novel, short story, essay, and autobiography-we will interrogate how each of these may or may not lead to different forms of self-knowledge. We will also be concerned with exploring what a "self" is and whose "selves" are at stake in literature. Therefore our literary texts will be complimented by theoretical readings in philosophy, psychoanalysis, and sociology. Although the content of this course may seem rather "self-absorbed" or "self-centered," our questions concerning the self will ultimately lead us to explore the ethical dimensions of self-knowledge in our relations to others.
Texts: May include works by Samuel Beckett, Jorge Luis Borges, René Descartes, Ralph Ellison, Sigmund Freud, Erving Goffman, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan, Clarice Lispecter, Ovid, Sylvia Plath, Somaya Ramadan, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Particulars: Three short papers (4-5 pages), one final paper (8-10 pages), and short weekly reflections on readings. Attendance and class participation are also essential.
The schedule of courses on O.P.U.S. is the official listing of courses, including days and times they meet and the General Education Requirements they satisfy. Students should use course descriptions as general guidelines. Course requirements, grading details, book lists, and syllabi are subject to change.