As thinkers of the 20th century came to question the Enlightenment ideal of human self-sovereignty, both for its intellectual and political consequences, many
turned back to religious imagery and concepts in pursuit of alternate modes of
conceptualizing the human being. This course will examine some such endeavors in the fields of philosophy, psychoanalysis and literature. While none of the
texts we examine will be explicitly theological, all will, in some form or another,
make use of theological notions such as revelation, redemption, or sacrifice. In
examining these texts we will be asking some fundamental questions: What
meaning do religious concepts have when emptied of dogmatic content? How
effective are these concepts when employed in the service of cultural critique?
How might such efforts reflect back on the theorizing and practice of religions in
contemporary society? We will, furthermore, analyze the very category of the
post-modern by considering its relationship to the Enlightenment, debating
whether this relationship is one of continuity, rupture or both, and dissecting the
critique that post-modern philosophy's concern for religion is a sign of its nostalgic or reactionary nature. Readings will include Immanuel Kant's Religion within the Limits of Reason alone, Friedrich Nietzsche's Twilight of the Idols, Jacques Lacan's Feminine Sexuality, as well as essays by Luce Irigaray, Georges
Bataille, Emmanuel Levinas, Jean-François Lyotard and Jacques Derrida.
Format: discussion. Requirements will include regular participation and four
writing assignments: three shorter papers of 3-5 pages on a question assigned by
the instructor and a longer essay of 12-15 pages on an approved topic of the student's choice.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit 19 (expected 19). Preference given to
Religion and Philosophy majors and Jewish Studies concentrators.