LN253
European Literature and Philosophy
This information is for the 2024/25 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 AT and WT. Revision tutorials in the ST.
This course has reading weeks in week 6 of the Autumn and Winter 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 Being; Stoppard 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 2023/24: 23
Average class size 2023/24: 8
Capped 2023/24: Yes (24)
Value: One Unit
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