First-Year Seminars 110QP - Phil. Questions in/about Lit.

This course examines philosophical themes in literature and philosophical questions about works of literature. Can we learn about the world from reading works of fiction? What is the meaning of a work of literature, and how can we know it? Are the author's intentions relevant to how we should understand a work? Can works of literature be immoral? How is the identity of the reader relevant to the understanding of a literary work? We will read works such as Iris Murdoch's The Black Prince, Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, and Kafka's Metamorphosis.

First-year students only, by placement.