Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0213 - New French Philosophy

From the 1960s through the 1990s, French philosophy was dominated by the "post-structuralist" philosophers Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Julia Kristeva, and Luce Irigaray. Over the past fifteen years, a new group of French philosophers has come to the fore, philosophers who often challenge post-structuralist conceptions of truth, reality, science, language, and philosophy itself. Some of these philosophers - for example, Alain Badiou, Francois Laruelle, and Gilbert Simondon - are from an older generation but have only recently become influential and widely known. Others - such as Quentin Meillassoux and Catherine Malabou - are from a younger generation. All of them are on the cutting-edge of French philosophy today. This course will examine the work of Badiou, Laruelle, Simondon, Meillassoux, and Malabou, focusing on their work in ontology and metaphysics. These texts are very challenging. Previous work in philosophy is strongly recommended.

Writing and Research Students are expected to spend 6-8 hours of preparation and work outside of class time.