Nigel De Juan Hatton, Ph.D

The history of ideas in the Western tradition has from its inception hosted a dynamic relationship between literature and philosophy. This course traces the genealogy of the relationship between literature and philosophy, as well as their intersections, tensions, affinities, and inter-textuality.
How do literature and philosophy, in similar and different ways, explain and interrogate the human condition and the category of the human being? Why do literary objects fit well in the explication of philosophy? How does philosophy inhabit and bring meaning to literary worlds? Where do we place poetic philosophers and philosophical novels or poems in the literature and philosophy discussion? Readings range from ancient philosophy and epic poetry to contemporary philosophy and literature, leading students to familiarity with important formations connected to antiquity, and the medieval, renaissance, enlightenment, romanticist, and modern periods.
 

This course aims to introduce students to the study of literature, including exploring answers to the questions: 1) What is literature? 2) What does it mean to read well? 3) How has the practice of reading changed over the years? and 4) What can the study of literature teach us about ourselves?