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Philosophy PHIL 265 the Existentialist Experience Fall 2018 Tuesday & Thursday 10:00-11:20Am, Modern Languages 354

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Philosophy PHIL 265 the Existentialist Experience Fall 2018 Tuesday & Thursday 10:00-11:20Am, Modern Languages 354 University of Waterloo Department of Philosophy PHIL 265 The Existentialist Experience Fall 2018 Tuesday & Thursday 10:00-11:20am, Modern Languages 354 Instructor Information Instructor: Nathan Haydon Office: Hagey Hall 339 Office Hours: Tuesday 1:00pm-2:00pm Email: [email protected] Course Description This course is designed to introduce students to existentialism. We shall use various types of writings, including novels, to develop the background and generic features of existential thought as well as to criti- cally assess the specific problems and solutions proposed by existentialists. The aim of the course is not just to introduce existentialist ideas, but to stimulate and encourage the development of the student’s own ideas. Course Goals and Learning Outcomes • Read and critically evaluate existentialist writings • Write clear, well-structured explanations and assessments of philosophical arguments • To be able to recognize existentialist themes in contemporary philosophy, along with existential- ism’s unique contribution towards resolving certain philosophical problems Required Texts Selections from: • Albert Camus, The Outsider/The Stranger • Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus • Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling • Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra • Additional essays from Peter Wessel Zapffe, W.E.B. Du Bois, Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Simone Weil, and Gloria Anzaldúa All readings are freely available online or will be made available on the LEARN website. How We’ll Spend Time in Class Most of our class time will be spent working through the discussion topics students have prepared for the weekly readings (see section on ‘Daily Discussion Points’ below for more info). Students will discuss their topics in a small group first, and then we will take turns hearing from each group. An equal amount 1 of time will be given to each group. Extra time will be allotted at the end of each class for synthesizing the key themes and feedback that arises during discussion (and from throughout the course). A short amount of time may be reserved at the start of each class to introduce the reading, discuss its contribution to the arc of the course, and summarize the argument presented within. A majority of the class time, how- ever, will be the student-centered discussion generated from the daily discussion topics. Course Assessments Assessment during the course consist in daily discussion points, as well as three written assignments, which are due roughly every four weeks. Assessment Date of Evaluation Weighting Daily Discussion Points Completion percentage at end of 10% term Essay #1 Thursday, Oct. 4th 30% Essay #2 Thursday, Nov. 8th 30% Essay #3 Thursday, Dec. 6th 30% Total 100% Further details on assessments: Daily Discussion Points At the start of every class you will turn in an index card with a discussion point on the reading for that day. The discussion point may be a question you have about a part of the reading, or it may be about a passage that you found particularly interesting. In short, it can be anything that you would like the class to investigate. The discussion point should be written clearly and succinctly (a couple of sentences will suf- fice), and should include page numbers that reference the relevant passages from the reading. As long as the discussion point is cogent and demonstrates a connection to the reading it will be given a passing mark. Daily discussion points in this context are meant to generate engagement with the material and to meet the various learning outcomes for the course. Short Essays Essay topics will be discussed in class and will be made available on the LEARN site. Essays should be no longer than 1000 words (about 4 pages). The topics include a preliminary characterization of existen- tial behavior (Meursault’s behavior in The Outsider), a more developed case study that incorporates theo- ry discussed in the course (Kierkegaard & Nietzsche), and a final essay that provides an opportunity to pursue a social ramification of existentialist thought. Course Outline Week Date Topic Readings Due 0 Sept. 6 Intro and Background Develop Familiarity - Samples of Existentialism 2 Week Date Topic Readings Due 1 Sept. 11 & 13 Zapffe The Last Messiah (Sept. 13th off) Tarkosvky Stalker 2 Sept. 18 & 20 Camus The Outsider 3 Sept. 25 & 27 Camus The Myth of Sisyphus (Preface - Philosophical Suicide) The Myth of Sisyphus (Absurd Freedom - The Myth of Sisyphus) 4 Oct. 2 & 4 Merleau-Ponty Cezanne’s Doubt Du Bois The Strivings of the Negro People [Essay 1 Due: Oct. 4 at midnight] Further Develop Theory 5 Oct. 11 Kierkegaard Fear and Trembling (Oct. 9th off) (Preface - Eulogy on Abraham) (Tarkovsky) (Also discuss Tarkovsky’s Stalker) 6 Oct. 16 & 18 Kierkegaard Fear and Trembling (Preliminary Expectoration - Problema II) Fear & Trembling (Problema III - Epilogue) 7 Oct. 23 & 25 Nietzsche Thus Spake Zarathustra (Prologue) Thus Spake Zarathustra (Pt. 1 – 1,3,4,15,17,21,22) 8 Oct. 30 & Nov. 1 Nietzsche Thus Spake Zarathustra (Pt. 2 – 2,7,12,15,19,20) Thus Spake Zarathustra (Pt. 3 – 2,5,7,11,12,13) 3 Week Date Topic Readings Due Further Develop Social Applications and Ramifications 9 Nov. 6 & 8 Sartre Existentialism is a Humanism Frankl Man’s Search For Meaning (Part 1) [Essay 2 Due: Nov. 8 at midnight] 10 Nov. 13 & 15 Frankl Man’s Search For Meaning (Part 2) Simone Weil The Illiad or the Poem of Force 11 Nov. 20 & 22 Simone Weil The Love of God and Affliction Reflection on the Right Use of School Studies… The Love of Our Neighbor 12 Nov. 27 & 29 Simone De Beavouir The Ethics of Ambiguity Anzaldúa How to Tame a Wild Tongue Speaking In Tongues: A Letter to 3rd World Women Writers [Essay 3 Due: Dec. 6 at midnight] Late Work Late assignments are subject to a penalty of 10% per business day. Under special circumstances (illness, family emergency, etc.) extensions may be granted. Appropriate documentation, like a doctor’s note, will be requested. Course Communication When contacting me via email, students can expect a response within 48 hrs during business days (Mon- day-Friday excluding holidays). Be sure to leave ample time for a response when an assignment deadline is approaching. Office Hours 4 No appointment or prior arrangements are required to make use of scheduled office hours. Students will be met with on a first-come-first-serve basis. Alternative meeting times may also be possible by appoint- ment. Information on Plagiarism Detection Students are not required to submit their work for this course to Turnitin. I may, however, should I suspect a portion of any student’s paper to be plagiarized, submit the paper to Turnitin for analysis. Should you not wish to have your work submitted to Turnitin, please inform me by the end of the second week of term, in which case further arrangements will be provided. Institutional-required statements for undergraduate course outlines approved by Senate Undergraduate Council, April 14, 2009 Cross-listed course Please note that a cross-listed course will count in all respective averages no matter under which rubric it has been taken. For example, a PHIL/PSCI cross-list will count in a Philosophy major average, even if the course was taken under the Political Science rubric. Academic Integrity Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing acad- emic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disci- plinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Peti- tions and Grievances, Section 4. Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals. Other sources of information for students Academic integrity (Arts) Academic Integrity Office (uWaterloo) Accommodation for Students with Disabilities Note for students with disabilities: The AccessAbility Services office, located in Needles Hall Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term. 5 Group Members: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
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