| as of 6/30/2022 |
TRAGEDY: SOPHOCLES, NIETZSCHE AND THE DEFIANCE OF REASON |
| Country - Partner Institution - Programs: | Netherlands - University College, Utrecht - 'Univ. College Utrecht' |
| UC Course Subject | Classics |
| Number & Suffix: | 113 |
| Full UC Title: | TRAGEDY: SOPHOCLES, NIETZSCHE AND THE DEFIANCE OF REASON |
| Transcript Title: | TRAGEDY |
| UC QTR Units - Division: | 6.0 - Upper Division |
| Course Description: | This course first examines how the tragic worldview is expressed in the great dramas of Greek antiquity, such as Aeschylus’ PROMETHEUS, Sophocles’ OEDIPUS REX and Antigone and Euripides’ BACCHAE. Next, attention is paid – through study of the Old Testament BOOK OF JOB and Marlowe’s FAUST – to the continuing importance of the tragic worldview in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Finally, after exploring the political and philosophical conditions that caused the ever-decreasing importance of tragic modes of thought in modern times, the course turns to the remarkable new meaning the tragic legacy of the Greeks took on at the end of the nineteenth century. At a time of unbridled belief in the possibilities of science and technology, the ancient Greeks were of unique value in calling to mind the dangers involved in ignoring or suppressing those aspects of human life that defy the authority of reason. Through Friedrich Nietzsche’s mightily influential THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY FROM THE SPIRIT OF MUSIC and a series of important works it inspired – by Thomas Mann, Joseph Conrad, and Albert Camus – it is shown how the tragic worldview of the Greeks inspired artists to reject the dogmatism of reason and to find beauty, happiness, and truth in the irrational, subconscious, and at times dark recesses of the human soul. Prerequisites include one course on one of the following topics: Media Studies, Global Religions, Ancient Literature, History. |
| Language of Instruction: | English
|
| Partner Title: | TRAGEDY: SOPHOCLES, NIETZSCHE AND THE DEFIANCE OF REASON |
| Partner University Department: | Literature |
| Partner University Course Number: | UCHUMLIT24 |