PHIL 104 - Tragedy and Philosophy: Ancient and Modern Perspectives

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Since Greek antiquity, philosophers have puzzled over the meaning, value, and purpose of tragedy. This course traces their conversation from ancient Athens (Plato and Aristotle) to German Romanticism (Hegel and Nietzsche) to the present (Stanley Cavell and Martha Nussbaum). Along the way we read or watch several tragedies that have inspired the philosophical imagination, such as works by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Shakespeare, Richard Wagner, and Edward Albee. Students learn to write carefully argued analyses of challenging texts, and to reflect on broader issues of literary interpretation, canonization and genre, and the ethical significance of art. On September 29^th the class will attend a performance of Sophocles’ Antigone at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. Christopher Raymond.

Open only to first-year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS