Earlham College, Fall Semester 1999-2000
Monday, Thursday 14:30-15:50. Carpenter 323
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 331
Office Hours: M, W, Th, F 1:00-2:00 pm
Office Phone: 983-1399 (voice mail)
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu
 

"Language is the house of Being. In its home man dwells."
Martin Heidegger, "Letter on Humanism."
 

"The univocity of being, its singleness of expression, is paradoxically the principal condition which permits difference to escape the domination of identity, which frees itself from the law of the Same as a simple opposition within conceptual elements."
Michel Foucault, "Theatrum Philosophicum."
 

Course Description: The aim of this course is to study the main traits of contemporary philosophy. We will approach 20^th Century Philosophy through the theme of language. Perhaps the most significant aspect of 20^th Century Philosophy is the so-called "Linguistic Turn." We will use the question of language as a way of entry to other problems of contemporary philosophy. Another significant issue in contemporary philosophy is the split between "continental" and "analytic" styles of philosophizing. Even though this course will concentrate on "continental" philosophers, we will begin our course with a discussion between an analytic and a continental philosopher. We will first read John Austin's How To Do Things With Words. This text marks the beginning of so-called "Speech Act Theory," which is an important topic of 20^th Century Analytic Philosophy. Next, we will read Jacques Derrida's interpretation of Austin's text. Then we will move on to John Searle's response to Derrida's interpretation, and finally to Derrida's response to Searle.
The second half of our course will concentrate on two major thinkers of the 20^th Century: Martin Heidegger and Michel Foucault. We will read several essays from Heidegger and Foucault on the question of language as well as on literature, poetry and textuality.
 

Reading Assignments: (available in the Earlham College bookstore)
Austin, J. L. How To Do Things With Words, 2^nd edition ed. J.O. Urmson and Marina Sbisà, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1962, 1975)
Derrida, Jacques. Limited Inc, trans. Samuel Weber, Jeffrey Mehlman and Alan Bass (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1988).
Heidegger, Martin. Poetry, Language, Thought, trans. Albert Hofstadter, (New York: Harper and Row, 1971).
Foucault, Michel. Language, Counter-memory, Practice, ed. Donald F. Bouchard, (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977).
In addition to these texts, I will provide photocopied material.
This course is mainly oriented toward close readings and discussion of primary texts. I expect you to read every text assigned for the week at least twice. Some of the passages we will read are very difficult. Instead of getting discouraged, try to formulate your difficulties in order to be able to discuss them during class sessions.

Requirements and Evaluation: You are expected to write four short papers and one long paper. The short papers will be "explications de texte" (an explanation or exegesis of the text). I will provide topics for each assignment. These papers will be on 1. Austin, 2. Derrida, 3. Heidegger 4. Foucault.
For the last paper you are encouraged to decide on your own topic/question. This paper should have a broad perspective incorporating major themes and ideas we discuss during the semester. It may compare and contrast two or more thinkers, but I would prefer that you do this on a specific topic.
For every paper (including papers on topics of your own choice) you are responsible for following the general guidelines provided. (See "Comments and Suggestions for Papers").
Each student will prepare two "presentations." These presentations will consists of two parts. The first part will be a kind of "protocol." A protocol is a carefully edited summary/notes of the previous class session written in full sentences. Protocols will be 1-2 single spaced pages and will be photocopied by the student who wrote it and handed out to all students at the beginning of each class to be read aloud, and will serve as a cumulative record of the course. In addition to reviewing the material covered in the previous class, the protocol should include announcements made in class, questions not addressed in class. The best protocols will be those that do not simply reproduce verbatim everything that was said during class, but those that rearrange the material thematically, editing out what was unimportant, and emphasizing what was significant. One of the advantages of the protocols is to allow you to think during class, and not just take notes; because someone will be taking notes for you, you can concentrate on the ideas being presented, and participate without having to write frantically. Also you will have a summary of every class which will help you with writing papers.

The second part of your presentation will introduce us to the new reading for the day. The most important dimension of this part of your presentation is to articulate the connections between the material we covered in the previous class and readings we will cover in that session. This presentation will include a brief summary of the readings assigned for the day, and raise questions concerning this material. I do not expect you to cover everything in the reading for the day. These presentations are designed to initiate and maintain class discussions at a high level.

Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution:
Paper 1: 10%
Paper 2: 10%
Paper 3: 10%
Paper 4: 10%
Final Paper: 30%
Presentation 1: 10%
Presentation 2: 10%
Attendance and Participation: 10%

Class participation and attendance:  There will be no final examination. Indeed, there will be no exams in this course. However, in order to make sure that we are doing the reading and reward you for doing it, I may give in class quizzes. The success of this course is dependent upon your contribution. In order for all of us to have a successful course your individual contribution will be needed. Given the size of the class, missing a session will be very disruptive for all of us. Consequently, you should feel a responsibility not only to me and to yourself (for the sake of your grade), but also to your friends in this course. I am not inclined to legislate strict attendance policies, with the conviction that you will be mature enough to attend all classes. However, if you miss more than two sessions you will fail this course. I think two emergencies for a semester is more than enough. These are the sessions you may miss, not that you should miss.
 

Calendar:
There may be some modifications to this calendar. It is your responsibility to be aware of these changes. These changes may be announced in class. If you miss a class you should make sure that you are informed about the assignments for the next session.

Week 1 -August 26: Introduction
Week 2: August 30-September 2: Austin
Week 3: September 6-9: Austin Protocol 1 for August 30-Sept 2
Week 4: September 13-16: Austin Protocol 2 for Sept 6-9
Week 5: September 20-23: Derrida 1^st Paper due: Sept 20
Week 6: September 27-30: Derrida Protocol 3 for Sept 20-23
Week 7: October 4-7: Derrida Protocol 4 for Sept 27-30 October 7: No Class
Week 8: October 11- : Heidegger 2^nd Paper due: Oct 11
Week 9: October 18-21: Heidegger Protocol 5 for Oct 4-7-11
Week 10: October 25-28: Heidegger Protocol 6 for Oct 18-21
Week 11: November 1-4: Foucault 3^rd Paper due: Nov 1
Week 12: November 8-11: Foucault Protocol 7 for Nov 1-4
Week 13: November 15-18: Foucault Protocol 8 for Nov 8-11
Week 14: November 29- December 2: 4^th Paper due: Dec 2
Week 15: December 7-9: Review Protocol 9 for Nov 29- Dec 2

Final Paper December 17-18
 

Office hours are for students to discuss ideas, assignments and questions. You are encouraged and welcome to come by my office or make appointments for times other than scheduled office hours. You should take advantage of office hours and appointments not simply to discuss your papers (you are obviously welcome to do that too) but also to understand ideas, and texts discussed in class, or simply to discuss your ideas.

Our sessions will start at 2:30 pm. Students are expected to come on time. Walking into the classroom while the session is in progress is extremely disruptive for everybody; so is walking out while the session is in progress. I ask you not to do these. In the beginning I will simply trust your judgment on this issue. However, if walking in and out of the classroom during the sessions becomes and epidemic, I will mark late students absent, and reduce their participation grade.

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