GERM 210(S) From Voltaire to Nietzsche (Same as Comparative Literature 211)
The 130 years from Voltaire's Candide to Nietzsche's Anti-Christ were a period
of astounding literary and philosophical development in Europe, with French
and German writers not only playing leading roles but also intensely influencing
one another. The course will examine French-German intellectual achievements
and relations against the backdrop of the political and social metamorphoses of
France and Germany from the reign of Louis XV to Bismarck's creation of the
Second Reich. Readings will be drawn from the works of Voltaire, Lessing,
Rousseau, Kant, Goethe, Condorcet, Schiller, Madame de Staël, Novalis, Nerval, Büchner, Baudelaire, Marx, George Sand, and Nietzsche. All readings in
English translation, but students with competence in French and/or German will
have the opportunity to read some works in the original.
Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: active class participation, two take-
home essay exams.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 25 (expected: 15-20). Preference given to
German majors and by seniority.