Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0199 - The Question of Evil

The problem of evil won't go away. Despite repeated attempts to dismiss the concept of evil as archaic and outmoded, it continues to haunt contemporary culture and thought. In literature, evil becomes a particularly prominent theme in the 19th century. Is literature intimately--or necessarily--connected to transgression, and to evil? We will explore 19th- and 20th-century literary as well as philosophical texts that take up the fascination with evil, and the difficulties thinkers have in confronting and making sense of it. Readings will include writers such as Kleist, Baudelaire, Bronte, Stevenson, Nietzsche, Wells, Bataille, Arendt, Highsmith, and others.

Culture, Humanities, and Languages Writing and Research In this course, students are expected to spend 6-9 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.