Module description
The module is designed to introduce, explore and assess the complex, central and conflicted role which literature plays within modern European or ‘Continental’ philosophy. Students will study a series of short texts and selected extracts from longer works with a view to: (i) reflecting on the distinction between ‘philosophical’ and ‘literary’ writing, (ii) understanding the way in which that distinction might both inform and problematise our understanding of philosophical methodology and philosophical style, (iii) considering whether, and if so how, philosophy might profit from a sustained engagement with literary texts. The course will explore some of the most influential developments within the modern philosophical understanding of ‘literature’, as it is cast successively as a vehicle for political action, a mode of transgressive experience, a distinctive act of self-creation and so on.
Assessment details
Formative assessment: one 2,000-3,000-word essay.
Summative assessment: one 4,000-word essay (100%).
Teaching pattern
One weekly one-hour lecture and one weekly one-hour seminar.