LN253     
European Literature and Philosophy

This information is for the 2023/24 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Olga Sobolev PEL 6.01a and Dr Angus Wrenn PEL 6.01a

Availability

This course is available on the BSc in Philosophy and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (with a Year Abroad) and BSc in Politics and Philosophy. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

Students can take this course in any year of their studies.

Pre-requisites

Although an A-level pass or equivalent in Literature is useful, it is not an absolute requirement (especially for General Course students).

Course content

(a) Literary treatment of the major philosophical trends of the twentieth century, including the aesthetics of Bergson and Nietzsche, the analytical school of Russell; political philosophy of Isaiah Berlin, the existentialism of Heidegger and Sartre, the paradox of the absurd of Camus, French and East European Phenomenology; Wittgenstein and philosophy of language (b) Related trips to galleries and theatre productions during the year; (c) Use of archive recordings of authors, and video; (d) Students encouraged to draw upon background in their main discipline, and to read widely.

Teaching

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the AT. 10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the WT. 1 hour of lectures and 1 hour of classes in the ST.

Structured activities during the reading week in the MT and LT. Revision workshops and tutorals in the ST.

This course has reading weeks in week 6 of Michaelmas and Lent terms.

Formative coursework

Two essays per year; topically based research presentations.

Indicative reading

Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment & The Parable of the Grand Inquisitor; Kafka Metamorphosis & The Trial; Nabokov Lolita, Speak Memory & Strong Opinions, Celan Todesfuge and other poems; St-Exupery The Little Prince; Solzhenitzyn One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; Camus L'Etranger & The Myth of Sisyphus; Kundera The Unbearable Lightness of BeingStoppard Dogg's Hamlet Cahoot's Macbeth

Assessment

Exam (70%, duration: 3 hours) in the spring exam period.
Essay (30%, 2500 words) in the WT.

Key facts

Department: Language Centre

Total students 2022/23: 22

Average class size 2022/23: 7

Capped 2022/23: Yes (24)

Lecture capture used 2022/23: Yes (MT & LT)

Value: One Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Course selection videos

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.

Personal development skills

  • Self-management
  • Team working
  • Problem solving
  • Application of information skills
  • Communication
  • Specialist skills