As taught by Nina Belmonte

What is the relation of philosophy to literature – of logos to mythos? How exactly is philosophical expression differ from artistic creation? Is there a wisdom that is unavailable to logic and reason? Is there a clarity of truth not possible in fiction? These are just some of the questions we will be asking as we explore a topic much visited in the history of humanity: What is the best society and why? What is the worst? And what do these societies tell us about what is means to be human? We will read portraits of utopias and dystopias from Plato and Moore to Marx, Huxley, Bellamy and Leguin. Throughout these adventures, we will consider how the very mode of our expression might allow for unique depths of understanding. Class format will be lecture/discussion, with regular class presentations and (non-required) movie nights on Mondays.

As taught by Nina Belmonte

A founding figure of our intellectual epoch and a self-described "posthumous person," Nietzsche's influence on subsequent thought across the disciplines cannot be overstated. Yet his writings are notoriously opaque. He wrote, as he said, "in blood" - his language lofty, enobling, excessive. How are to understand him, then? In this course we will explore Nietzsche's work chronologically, from The Birth of Tragedy and early essays through Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil to Ecce Homo. We will read representatively, following the conception and development of his extraordinary notions of the Will to Power, the Overman and Eternal Return, Genealogy and Art, and Life. We will delight in the enigmatic force of his language and endeavor to comprehend him on his own terms, as profoundly as possible. Readings will undoubtedly be difficult and class attendance necessary. As with all great adventures, what you take away will depend on what you put in. Graded work will include two shorter exegetical papers and a final project.