Advanced Studies in Culture and Thought (395-0-20)

Topic

Thinking Subjectivity

Instructors

Scott P Durham
8474914660
1860 S. Campus Drive, Crowe Hall #2-141

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 3-410: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This course will explore two approaches to thinking subjectivity: that of the Existentialist tradition, which conceives the subject as freely choosing itself in a situation not of its choosing; and that of the philosopher Michel Foucault, who situates the subject at a point of intersection of relations of knowledge and power. Class discussions will focus on excerpts of three works: Simone de Beauvoir's Le deuxième sexe, Jean-Paul Sartre's autobiography, Les Mots, and Michel Foucault's book on the prison as a site of power and knowledge, Surveiller et punir. Students will develop an independent research project taking one of these three works as a point of departure.

Registration Requirements

Restricted to seniors majoring in French.

Class Materials (Required)

Beauvoir, L'expérience vécue: Le deuxième sexe 2

Foucault, Surveiller et punir

Foucault, L'ordre du discours

Sartre, Les mots

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity