LITERATURE
AND PHILOSOPHY OF A HISTORICAL PERIOD: Reading
the literary artworks and the philosophical theories of a particular historical
period is often a fruitful way of examining the social concerns of the times.
Artists and philosophers are both rooted in, and yet responsive to, their social
places and historical times. It's important, then, to examine the social-historical
setting within which artists and philosophers produce their works. While it's
generally a mistake to reduce literature and philosophy to being a mere symptom
of the times, it's equally a mistake to presume originality without the debt
of influence. Sometimes there are important biographical influences between
artist and philosopher, although this type of connection is by no means the
most important one. Critical theorists have developed various ways of systematically
exploring the connection between the social setting and literary artwork, e.g.
Marxist, Feminist, Historicist, Cultural-studies, New-Historicist, and Dialogical
approaches. The department therefore recommends that students studying an historical
period of literature take a philosophy course devoted to the same period.
THEORY
OF THE NOVEL: How did the modern novel emerge in the Western
tradition from ancient religious, mythological, and cosmological stories? How
does the modern novel differ from Ancient and Medieval epics and sagas? How
does the prose novel differ from poetic forms? Are we now in a "post-modern"
literary period superceding the so-called modern novel? These are the types
of questions that "narratologists" have raised, and their responses
have been as varied as they are contested. Philosophy and Literature and 19th-Century
Philosophy are courses within which students explore the philosophical complexities
of any such attempt to offer a historical classification of narrative forms.
LITERATURE,
PHILOSOPHY, AND PSYCHOLOGY: Philosophers and psychologists who
study experience, action, and identity have suggested that there are important
"homologies" or "isomorphism" between types of narrative,
on the one hand, and structures of human experience, on the other. Some psychologists
even suggest that identity is a matter of a life story and, in this way, make
narrative form and personal integrity related subject
matters. Cognitive psychologists have suggested that human experience is structured
by various "schemas" and "scripts" that are associated with
narrative and dramatic forms. Philosophers examine such claims in connection
with basic models of experience, action, and biographical integrity.
ART
AND PHILOSOPHY AS WAYS OF EXAMINING LANGUAGE-USE: In the Philosophy
of Language, students gain the conceptual skills for examining sentences (semantics)
and analyzing speech acts (pragmatics). The dialogues staged in selected plays
are then examined from the perspective of formal linguistic analysis. The ability
to analyze dialogue using the conceptual tools of formal linguistics is fruitful
for exposing and critically examining a playwright's concern with forms of life.
 |
|
Pre-law Students
Pre-med Students
Math & Science Students
English Students
Political Science
Students
Psychology Students
Sociology/Anthropology
Students
Economics/Business
Students
Humphrey House
2nd Floor
Phone: (269) 337-7043
|
The Philosophy Department actively
supports interdisciplinary studies in philosophy and literature. Although
all philosophy courses offer opportunities for students in the literary
arts, the following courses are most strongly recommended:
· Philosophy and Literature.
· 19th-Century Philosophy: From Kant to Nietzsche.
· Existentialism and Film.
· Philosophy of Language.
· 18th-Century Philosophy.
· Ethics.
These courses contain formal units of interdisciplinary instruction
known as "Bridge Readings." Bridge readings allow students
to explore connections between the subject matter of a philosophy
course and literary texts. Bridge-reading students are invited to
write a final research essay that explores such interdisciplinary
connections. Bridge Reading courses are often supported by faculty
in other departments, who provide tutorial assistance. Students intending
to pursue graduate studies in literary studies are strongly encouraged
to complete a minor in philosophy, which should be designed in close
consultation with the department to enhance the student's orientation
to literary studies. There are various ways of relating philosophy
and literature supported by the department:
- The study of theoretical approaches to reading literature, called
CRITICAL
THEORY: Contemporary literary studies have been strongly
influenced by philosophy. It is now generally accepted that reading
literature is not "innocent" but informed by basic theoretical
assumptions. Schools of literary interpretation have grown out of
philosophical theories, and the study of such theoretical approaches
- called "Critical Theory" -- is now an important subfield
of literary studies. Critical theory examines ways of reading literature,
such as phenomenological, existentialist, psycho-analytic, hermeneutic,
historicist, feminist, deconstructionist, reader-response, new-historicist,
and cultural-criticism
"Critical
Theory,"
which derive from philosophical theories.
- The study of an historical
period as producing both literary artworks and philosophical
theories that address common social and political issues.
- The study of the historical development of narrative and the
novel - called "Narratology"
or "Theory of the Novel" - in connection
with philosophical questions about the temporal and historical dimensions
of human existence.
- The study of literary genres in connection
with psychological
studies in cognitive, narrative, and developmental
psychology.
- The study
of language use in drama and literature in connection with
the philosophical analysis of how language works.
|