Existentialism

Fall 2021 Syllabus

Section 001
CRN: 12685
MW 3:00 — 4:15 PM
Online Scheduled Course


Dr. Timothy J. Freeman
The University of Hawaii at Hilo
Edith Kanaka‘ole Hall 212
office: 932-7479; cell: 345-5231

freeman@hawaii.edu

Office Hours: MW 1:00-2:00 PM
and by appointment

PHIL 360 Existentialism *WI*
The themes which recur in the works of existential philosophers from the 19th century to the present. Pre: Junior standing or consent of the instructor. (Attributes: DH)

Existentialism: Basic Writings, 2nd edition, ed. Charles Guignon and Derk Pereboom. Hackett Publishing Company, 2001.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche. Translated by Graham Parkes. Oxford University Press, 2005.
The Plague, Albert Camus. Translated by Stuart Gilbert. Random House, 1991.

This course will examine one of the important movements in contemporary Continental Philosophy. We will begin with the 19th Century precursors, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, and Nietzsche, and then in Part II of the course move on to cover the most important 20th century existentialist thinkers Heidegger, Sartre, De Beauvoir, and Camus. The primary aim of the course is to introduce the students to the broad outlines and some of the key figures in contemporary Continental Philosophy.

[Philosophy courses for GE purposes]: (As with all Philosophy courses) Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
●respond clearly, logically and critically to examination questions and discussion questions about some important philosophical issues relevant to the course;
●read, comprehend, and discuss philosophical texts relevant to the course;
●compose effective written materials that assimilate, synthesize and reflect on course information;
●identify and describe in writing and in class discussion some important aspects of the cultural heritage and contributions of Western philosophy.

This class is designated as online scheduled. Synchronous Zoom sessions with lectures, film clips, PowerPoint presentations, and class discussions. It is possible that we will have classroom sessions later in the term for those want that. In that case, there will still be Zoom broadcast from the classroom for those who prefer to stay online.

Students will be expected to tune in to the Zoom sessions with cameras on and be ready to participate in class discussions.

This is a writing intensive course. The final grade will be based on the following:
1) One must do 3 of 5 short writing assignments (3-4 pages each). If you do more than 3, I will drop the lowest grade. (15% each for a total of 45% of the final grade)
2) A final essay paper due at the time scheduled for a final exam. The essay must include a development of at least one of the short essay assignments. (55% of the final grade)

Grading will be determined according to the following scale:
A 95-100 Excellent
A - 90-94
B + 87-89
B 84-86 Good
B - 80-83
C + 77-79
C 74-76 Satisfactory
C - 70-73 Poor
D 60-70 Failure
F below 60

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Course Evaluation

**Schedule is subject to revision**