PHIL 180: EXISTENTIALISM

Earlham College, Spring Semester 2006-2007
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00-10:50. Carpenter 322
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: By appointment
Office Phone: 983-1399 (voice mail)
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu
web page: http://www.earlham.edu/~guvenfe/existentialism2007.htm
Moodle page: https://moodle.earlham.edu/course/view.php?id=162

Course Description: The aim of this course is to introduce you to the intellectual movement of existentialism through close readings of philosophical texts. Although existentialism as an explicit school of thought emerges in the 20th Century, its roots lie in the 19th Century. Therefore, we will begin our readings with texts by 19th Century philosophers. In addition to philosophical texts, we will cover novels and short stories in order to familiarize ourselves with different genres in which the existentialist ideas are formulated. We will also study the existential questions in the context of social and political issues such as race, feminism and postcoloniality.

Course Requirement and Evaluation: You are expected to write two papers: I will provide paper topics for each assignment. You are also allowed to decide on your own topic provided that you discuss your topic with me at least a week before the deadline. Along with the paper topics I will also provide specific guidelines for each topic. Besides this, 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").
For each week, two students will work together in order to prepare a two paged (single-spaced) protocol of the material discussed during the previous week. A protocol is a carefully edited summary of the previous class sessions written in full sentences. Protocols will be photocopied by the student who wrote it and handed out to all students at the beginning of each Monday to be read aloud, and will serve as a cumulative record of the course. The students who prepare the protocol should come to class a couple of minutes early, so that the protocols will have been distributed at the beginning of the class (i.e., at 10:00). In addition to reviewing the material covered in the previous class, the protocol should include announcements made in class, questions raised, and, if possible, future questions for the material to come. The best protocols will be those that do not simply reproduce word for word everything that was said during class, but those that rearrange the material thematically, editing out what was unimportant, and emphasizing what was significant. The point of this is not only to get you to work together, but also 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 constantly. Also you will have a summary of every class which will help you with writing papers.

There will be announced or unannounced quizzes either at the beginning or at the end of the sessions. There will be no make-ups for the quizzes.
There will be no final examination!

Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution: Paper I: 25%, Paper II: 25%, Protocol: 15%, Quizzes: 20% Participation and Attendance: 15%. In order to pass the course you must fulfill all the requirements.

Participation and Attendance: Attendance and participation are important dimensions of the course and your grade.  I expect you to come to class prepared and ready to participate, i.e., having read the text carefully (at least twice), and ready to raise and answer questions.  If you have not completed the reading for the day, you will not be able to participate in class discussions.
The success of this course depends on your attendance. If you miss three sessions, you will lose your entire participation grade (%15). If you miss more than five sessions, you will fail this course regardless of your grade.

Our sessions will start at 10:00 am. Students are expected to come on time. Walking into (and out of) the classroom while the session is in progresss is very disruptive for everybody.  For every two late attendance (or early exit) you will be marked as absent for one class session.
You are required to bring the text (the book or photocopied material) to class, and refer to them during discussions.

Any student with a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the instructor and Disability Services Office (Academic Support Services) at the beginning of the semester. Accommodation arrangements must be made during the first-two weeks of the semester.

Calender:
There will be some modifications to this calender. 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:
January 10: Introduction
January 12: Barrett, William. The Irrational Man: The Advent of Existentialism (from Moodle)
Week 2:
January 15: The Advent of Existentialism
January 17: Barrett, William. The Irrational Man: The Encounter with Nothingness
January 19: Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, from Basic Writings of Existentialism
Week 3:
January 22: Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, from Basic Writings of Existentialism
January 24: Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, from Basic Writings of Existentialism
January 26: Kierkegaard, Sickness Unto Death, from Basic Writings of Existentialism, pp.41-57
Week 4:
January 29: Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, First Essay: "Good and Evil, "Good and Bad" from Basic Writings of Existentialism
January 31: Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, First Essay: "Good and Evil, "Good and Bad" from Basic Writings of Existentialism
February 2: Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, First Essay: "Good and Evil, "Good and Bad" from Basic Writings of Existentialism
Week 5:
February 5: Sartre, Existentialism from Basic Writings of Existentialism
February 7: Sartre, Being and Nothingness "Self Negation" from Basic Writings of Existentialism
February 9: Sartre, Being and Nothingness "The Encounter with the Other" from Basic Writings of Existentialism

Week 6:
February 12: De Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity from Moodle
February 14: De Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity from Moodle
February 16: De Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity: "Ambiguity" from Basic Writings of Existentialism
Week 7:
February 19: Review
February 21: Review; First Paper Due
February 23: Mid-semester Break
Week 8:
February 26: Frantz Fanon, Black Skin White Masks
February 28: Frantz Fanon, Black Skin White Masks
March 2: Frantz Fanon, Black Skin White Masks
Week 9:
March 5: Frantz Fanon, Black Skin White Masks
March 7: Frantz Fanon, Black Skin White Masks
March 9: Frantz Fanon, Black Skin White Masks
Week 10:
March 12: Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, An Absurd Reasoning, from Basic Writings of Existentialism.
March 14: Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, An Absurd Reasoning, from Basic Writings of Existentialism
March 16: Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Myth of Sisyphus, from Basic Writings of Existentialism.

March 19--March 23: Spring Break
Week 11:
March 26: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
March 28: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
March 30: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
Week 12:
April 2: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
April 4: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
April 6: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
Week 13:
April 9:  Milan Kundera, Ignorance
April 11: Milan Kundera, Ignorance
April 13: Milan Kundera, Ignorance
Week 14:
April 16: Milan Kundera, Ignorance
April 18: Milan Kundera, Ignorance
April 20: Milan Kundera, Ignorance
Week 15:
April 23: Borges, the Other, The Book of Sand (from Moodle)
April 25: Borges, the Other, The Book of Sand (from Moodle)
April 27: Review and Evaluation:

April 30: Final Paper Due