20th Century Continental Philosophy

PHIL 344:01
Dr. McWhorter
Spring, 2009

Adorno, The Adorno Reader

Deleuze and Guattari, What is Philosophy?

Foucault, Power: The Essential Works of Foucault, Volume 3

Husserl, Cartesian Meditations

Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge

Calendar of Readings

PHENOMENOLOGY AND EXISTENTIALISM

January 12:
Introduction to the course.

January 14:

Husserl, "Philosophy and the Crisis of European Man." What, according to Husserl, distinguishes the philosophical of tradition of Europe from the traditions of other areas of the world such as India and China? In what sense is the task of European philosophy "infinite"?

January 19:

NO CLASS: Martin Luther King Day Celebrations.

January 21:

Husserl, Cartesian Meditations, 1-26. Students should also quickly review Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy or notes from Modern Western Philosophy in order to understand what Husserl's project is all about. Questions for reflection as you read include: Why does Husserl say Descartes' Meditations is the prototype for all truly philosophical reflection? What is the role of the subject or ego in Cartesian philosophy and in Husserl's philosophy? In what sense does Husserl take the grounding of scientific thought as his philosophical aim?

January 26:

Husserl, Cartesian Meditations, 27-55. Questions for reflection as you read include: What is the transcendental ego? What is transcendental phenomenology? What is the difference between natural and transcendental reflection? Why does Husserl say synthesis is the primal form belonging to consciousness? A great deal more information on Husserl can be found online.

CRITICAL THEORY

January 28:

Adorno, "Metacritique of Epistemology,"from The Adorno Reader, 112-136.

February 2:

Adorno, "The Concept of Enlightenment," from The Adorno Reader, 155-172.

February 4:

Horkheimer and Adorno, "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception," from The Dialectic of Enlightenment, pp. 94-136 (electronic reserve).

February 9:

Adorno, "The Essay as Form ,"from The Adorno Reader, 91-111.

February 11:

Adorno, "Subject and Object," in The Adorno Reader, 137-151.

February 16:

EXAM!

POSTMODERNISM

February 18:

Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, xxiii-11

February 23:

Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, 11-37

February 25 :

Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, 37-67

March 2:

Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, 71-82.

March 4:

Charles Scott, "Postmodernism," from Columbia Companion to Twentieth Century Philosophy, pp. 504-515 (electronic reserve)

March 9-11:
SPRING BREAK!!

GENEALOGY AND POST-STRUCTURALISM

March 16:

Foucault, "Truth and Juridical Forms," from Power: Essential Works of Michel Foucault 1954-1984, Volume 3, 1-16.

March 18:

Foucault, "Truth and Juridical Forms," from Power: Essential Works of Michel Foucault 1954-1984, Volume 3, 16-52.

March 23:
Foucault, "Truth and Juridical Forms," from Power: Essential Works of Michel Foucault 1954-1984, Volume 3, 52-70. Students should also read pages 195-228 of Foucault's 1975 book Discipline and Punish on the Panopticon. (This web site has an embedded link to Bentham's text.) Also, have a look at an image of Bentham's Panopticon.

March 25:
Foucault, "Truth and Juridical Forms," from Power: Essential Works of Michel Foucault 1954-1984, Volume 3, 70-87. Click here for a photo of a real panopticon.

March 30:

Foucault, "Truth and Power," from Power: Essential Works of Michel Foucault 1954-1984, Volume 3, 111-133. Topic Due!

April 1:

EXAM!

April 6:

Class will meet in Boatwright Library for a session on research methods with Carol Wittig, Philosophy Research Librarian.

April 8:

NO CLASS: Students should spent this time working on bibliographies and outlines of their term papers.

April 10:

THIS IS NOT A CLASS DAY, BUT: Your Working Bibliography and your Outline are due by noon!

April 13:

Deleuze and Guattari, What is Philosophy? 1-60.

April 15:

Deleuze and Guattari, What is Philosophy? 61-113.

April 20:

Deleuze and Guattari, What is Philosophy? 117-162.

April 22:

Deleuze and Guattari, What is Philosophy? 163-218.

April 27:
Term Paper Due by 12:00 noon.