PHIL 480.
SEMINAR: NIETZSCHE and FOUCAULT
Earlham College, Fall Semester 2007-2008
Monday, Thursday 1:00-2:20; Carpenter 323
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: By appointment
Office Phone: 983-1399
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu
web page: http://www.earlham.edu/~guvenfe
Moodle page: https://moodle.earlham.edu/course/view.php?id=232
Course Description: This course is an investigation of
the relationship between the works of Friedrich Nietzsche and those of
Michel Foucault. We will concentrate on a number of themes including
metaphysics, genealogy, power and politics. The first half of the
course will concentrate on Nietzsche's writings. As a transition to
Foucault, we will read some sections from Martin Heidegger's lecture
courses on Nietzsche and the second half of the course will concentrate
on Foucault's works.
Reading Assignments: (available in the Earlham College bookstore)
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Basic Writings of Nietzsche, ed. Walter
Kaufmann, (New York: Modern Library, 2000). ISBN: 0679783393
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Will to Power, ed. by Walter Kaufmann (New York: Vintage, 1968). ISBN: 0394704371
Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish (New York: Vintage,
1995). ISBN: 0679752552
Foucault, Language, Counter-Memory, Practice, ed. Donald
Bouchard, (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977). ISBN: 0801492041
In addition to these texts, there will be additional reading
material on Moodle.
Requirements and Evaluation: This course will be conducted in
a seminar format. Therefore, attandance 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, and ready to raise and answer questions.
You are expected to write three papers. The first two
papers will be mainly explanation or exegesis of the text. I will
provide topics for each of these assignments. For the last paper you
are encouraged to decide on your own topic/question. For every
paper (including papers on topics of your own choice) you are
responsible for the general guidelines provided. See "Comments and Suggestions
for Papers."
Each student will prepare one presentation. These presentations will consists of two parts. The first part will be a protocol.
A protocol is a carefully edited summary/notes of the previous class session written in full sentences. Protocols will be 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. The protocol will serve as a cumulative record of the course. In addition to reviewing the material covered in the previous class, it should include announcements made in class and questions not addressed in class. The best protocols will be those that do not simply reproduce word for word everything that was said during class, but 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 constantly. 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 the current 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 discussion at a high level.Each student will prepare a protocol.
Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution:
Paper 1: 20%; Paper 2: 20%; Paper 3: 30%; Protocol: 20%;
Participation and Attendance: 10%. There will be no final examination.
The success of this course depends on your contribution. Even though I
am not inclined to legislate strict attendance policies, you will fail
this course, regardless of your grade, if you miss more than four
sessions.
Our sessions will start at 2:30 pm. Students are expected to come on
time. Walking into (and out of) the classroom while the session is in
progress is very disruptive for everybody. I ask you not to do
these. For every two late attendance you will be marked absent for one
class session.
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.
Calendar: There may be
some modifications to this calendar. It is your responsibility to be
aware of these changes. These changes will 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 23: Introduction to
the course: Nietzsche, "How the True World finally Became a Fable"
NIETZSCHE
Week 2:
August 27: Genealogy of Morals from Basic Writings of Nietzsche
August 30: Genealogy of Morals from Basic Writings of Nietzsche
Week 3:
September 3: Genealogy of Morals from Basic Writings of Nietzsche
September 6: Beyond Good and Evil from Basic Writings of Nietzsche
Week 4:
September 10: Beyond Good and Evil from Basic Writings of Nietzsche
September 13: Beyond Good and Evil from Basic Writings of Nietzsche
Week 5:
September 17: The Will to Power
September 20: The Will to Power
Week 6:
September 24: The Will to Power
September 27: The Will to Power
HEIDEGGER
Week 7:
October 1: Heidegger, Nietzsche, 1st paper due
October 4: Heidegger, Nietzsche
Week 8:
October 8: Heidegger, Nietzsche
October 11: Midsemester Break
Week 9:
October 15: Heidegger, Nietzsche
October 18: Heidegger, Nietzsche
FOUCAULT
Week 10:
October 22: Foucault, Language, Counter-Memory, Practice
October 25: Foucault, Language, Counter-Memory, Practice
Week 11:
October 29: Foucault, Language, Counter-Memory, Practice
November 1: Foucault, Language, Counter-Memory, Practice
Week 12:
November 5: Foucault, Language, Counter-Memory, Practice
November 8: Foucault, Language, Counter-Memory, Practice 2nd paper due
Week 13:
November 12: Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish
November 15: Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish
November 19-November 23: Fall Break
Week 14:
November 26: Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish
November 29: Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish
Week 15:
December 3: Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish
December 6: Review and Evaluation:
December 14: Final Paper due (@5:00 pm)
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