Course Syllabus

Semester & Location:	Spring 2022 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Philosophy, Literature
Minor Disciplines:	Ethics, Religious Studies
Faculty Member:	Anna Louise Strelis Söderquist
Office hours:	By appointment: anna.soederquist@dis.dk
Program Coordinator:	Sanne Rasmussen, sra@dis.dk
Time & Place:	Time: 1:15 - 2:35 PM Room: F24-303

Description of Course

Learning Objectives

Together, we will be aiming to: (1) enter into dialogue with European philosophical, literary, and artistic traditions that have grappled with existential questions; (2) acquire academic skills in navigating and interpreting philosophical works, novels, films, and artworks; (3) develop abilities in nuancing and articulating our own views and positions in dialogue with those of others; and (4) relate our particular lived experience of the search for the good life to universal philosophical concepts that elucidate the human condition.

Faculty

Anna Louise Strelis Söderquist, Ph.D. in Philosophy, The New School for Social Research, 2015. M.A. in Philosophy, The New School for Social Research, New York, 2012. B.S. in Philosophy and Sociology, Minor in History, Northeastern University, 2004. Alumni of Fulbright US-Denmark, 2013–2014. Researcher at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Center, University of Copenhagen. With DIS since 2015.

Readings

• Camus, Albert. A Happy Death. London: Penguins Books, 2013. ISBN 978-0-141-18658-0
• Chamisso, Adelbert von. Peter Schlemihl: The Man Who Sold His Shadow (on Canvas).
• Diogenes Laertius. Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (selections on Canvas).
• Hadot, Pierre. "Only the Present is Our Happiness." In Philosophy as a Way of Life. Oxford: Blackwell, 1995 (on Canvas).
• Kierkegaard, Søren. Either/Or, I and II. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-691-07315-5 and 0-691-07316-3 (e-book, in Modules).
• Kierkegaard, Søren. The Concept of Anxiety. London: W.W. Norton, 2015 (selections, on Canvas).
• Kierkegaard, Søren. The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016 (e-book, in Modules).
• Kierkegaard, Søren. "At a Graveside." In Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009 (on Canvas).
• Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 978-0-140-44118-5
• Weil, Simone. Waiting for God. London: Routledge, 2021. ISBN 978-0-367-70528-2 (e-book, in Modules).

Artists 

• Niels Hansen Jakobsen
• Auguste Rodin
• Jean Gautherin

Field Studies

• Glyptotek Art Museum
• Cinematic Viewing: Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life (2011)

Approach to Learning

We use the Socratic method in this course, which includes a close study of texts and persistent exploration of concrete life, always with a goal of raising everyday experience to a reflective level. We will employ an array of short lectures, student presentations, dialogue between partners, small group activities, full-class discussions, and assignments out and about in the city and nature. Our approach involves working together to mutually question assumptions, clarify positions, and help each other give birth to new thoughts and ideas. The focus is not so much on final answers as on good questions that open up further possibilities for inquiry.

Expectations of Participants

Active participation in all activities is essential for the success of the course. In each meeting, whether in the classroom or on tour, you are asked to raise questions in relation to the assigned texts or other material and to respond to your peers’ contributions. Therefore, full preparation before meetings includes close textual readings and note-taking, close observation of the world around you, and reflection on possible directions for our dialogue once we are together.

Classroom Etiquette

Dialogue involves candid questioning. Thus, the feedback we give one another may be penetrating and challenging, but it will truly thrive only where it also achieves respect and charity. A helpful measuring bar is to consider our procedure as tending toward questioning rather than asserting.

Evaluation

Formal previous experience in the discipline of philosophy is not required, and you will be receiving substantial guidance in the learning process. Nevertheless, you will be challenged (whatever your starting point) to apply yourself in developing your fluency in the genre, both as a thinker and a writer. The purpose of course assignments is to deepen and nuance your understanding of particular topics that deeply interest you, while learning philosophical thinking as a way of life.

Attendance & Participation

Active participation in class activities is essential for the success of the course. In each session, you are asked to raise questions in relation to the assigned texts or other material and respond to your peers’ contributions. Therefore, full preparation before class includes close textual readings and note-taking, as well as reflection on possible directions for inquiry in class. During class discussions, you are asked to refer to specific passages from the reading to support your interjections.

Discussion Board Posts

You are asked on a weekly basis to contribute to a discussion thread on Canvas in preparation for class. After having engaged with the assigned material, but before we meet in class, you will post your thoughts or questions in paragraph form (ranging from half a page to a page each time). This is a great opportunity to read the contributions of your peers as well. These contributions count as part of your overall participation grade.

Disclosures

Throughout the semester, you are asked to keep a daily practice of writing "disclosures" to yourself. These short written entries are entirely private and entirely for your own edification (i.e., they are in no way read or assessed by the professor). They may be influenced by your experiences in our course, in other courses, by your time studying abroad, or by a number of other factors. Think of this as dialogue with oneself, mental training, and/or spiritual practice. Reread your thoughts, or don't. Share and discuss them with others, or don't. I do encourage you to keep your entries all in one place (one small notebook or computer file). Other traditional terms referring to this practice are "meditations," "confessions," or "personal revelations." Think of it as you will, but by all means, try it out!

Mid-term Paper

The mid-term paper investigates a specific philosophical thesis closely tied to the course’s main themes through a detailed examination of course material. This assignment gives you a chance to grapple more deeply with the course material, as well as to practice thesis-driven, well-organized philosophical writing.

Final Paper

The final paper investigates a specific philosophical thesis closely tied to the main course themes through a detailed examination of course material. The overall aim of this assignment is to advance and showcase your abilities in philosophical thinking and writing, while diving head-on into a topic that is important to you.

Grading Breakdown

Assignment	Percent
Attendance & Participation:	25%
Mid-term Paper:	30%
Final Paper:	45%

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

• Course Enrollment and Grading  
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

 

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