What should an education be? We’re used to the idea that it’s about acquiring knowledge and learning skills that will make one employable. But classically there have been much richer conceptions of what an education can and ought to be. Some of the most important texts on this topic have come in for sustained attention both by literary theorists and philosophers; our reading list includes Rousseau's Emile, Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Grey, and Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations, as well as Shelley’s Frankenstein and Elias’s History of Manners. Students will engage these works closely, learning to approach each using the disciplinary repertoire of both literary studies and philosophy.
HUM 1010
Fall 2018
Time: MW 11:50-1:10
Location: CTIHB 459 (Tanner Library) [NOTE ROOM CHANGE]