Contemporary Studies

An introduction to some of the most seminal influences in thought that have shaped our contemporary world from the late 19th century to the present time. This course typically explores themes and developments such as evolutionary theory, Nietzschean radical critique, depth-psychology, astrophysics, philosophy of science, revolution, the absurd, existentialism, gender issues, and postcolonial literature and criticism, from both the Western and the Arab worlds. Sequence one courses (201, 202, 205, 207) focus on the ancient world up to the Renaissance, sequence two courses (203, 204, 206, 208) on the pre-modern to contemporary world. Students have to take a sequence one course, before enrolling in a sequence two course.