Listed in: Political Science, as POSC-225
Jaeyoon Park (Section 01)
In this course, we will study the political thought of Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud. We will devote equal parts of the term to each thinker and learn about the intellectual and social crises that animated what they wrote; decipher, and analyze their complex theoretical ideas; and ask to what extent their efforts to theorize capitalism, inequality, alienation, nihilism, the will to power, political moralism, rage against social constraints, the death drive, and mass delusion might help us make sense of our own times. What do these classic theories help us to see anew or more clearly in our own world? And in what ways do the classic theories fail to capture what is happening around us? These two questions drive much scholarship in political theory, and we will try our hand at them in dialogue with Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. Readings will be drawn from, among others: “On the Jewish Question,” the “Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,” and Capital, Volume One (Marx); Beyond Good and Evil and On the Genealogy of Morals (Nietzsche); “Thoughts for the Times on War and Death,” Civilization and Its Discontents, and The Future of an Illusion (Freud).
Limited to 18 students. Fall semester. Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor Park.
How to handle overenrollment: Priority given to Political Science majors.
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: An emphasis on written work, readings, in-class discussion.
Section 01
Tu 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM CONV 209
Th 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM CONV 209
| ISBN | Title | Publisher | Author(s) | Comment | Book Store | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Writings | Penguin | Karl Marx, trans. Rodney Livingstone and Gregor Benton | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo | Vintage | Friedrich Nietzsche, , trans. Walter Kaufmann and R. J. Hollingdale | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Five Lectures on Psycho-analysis | Norton | Sigmund Freud, trans. James Strachey | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| The Future of an Illusion | Norton | Sigmund Freud, trans. James Strachey | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego | Norton | Sigmund Freud, trans. James Strachey | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Civilization and Its Discontents | Norton | Sigmund Freud, trans. James Strachey | Amherst Books | TBD |
These books are available locally at Amherst Books.