French 435/603
Etre Philosophe à l'Age
des Lumières
Course Description:
This course will explore the
concept
of the "philosophe" in the Age of Enlightenment. We will focus on
three main topics that helped define the philosophes: the
critical spirit, man, and society. Among the texts that we will study in
class are Voltaire's Lettres Philosophiques, the Encylopédie,
La Mettrie's Homme machine, Diderot's
Rêve de D'Alembert
and Rousseau's two Discours, as
well as articles by modern historians/critics. Class
discussions
and lectures will involve a combination of detailed exegesis of the
authors'
works and synthetic contextualization, tying the texts into significant
cultural, artistic, philosophical and historical trends and events of
the
Age of Reason. Students will
write
two short papers (700-1000 words for graduates and 350-700 words for
undergraduates)
and a final term paper (2600-3300 words for graduates, 1700-2300 words
for undergraduates). The course is conducted in French.
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Syllabus