Course Syllabus

Semester & Location:	Summer 2024, Session 3 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Philosophy, Literature, Art
Prerequisite(s):	None
Minor Disciplines:	Ethics, Religious Studies
Faculty Members:	Nan Gerdes & Anita Mašková
Office hours:	By appointment: Please contact via Canvas Inbox. In week 28 & 29, please contact Nan. In week 30, please contact Anita.
Time & Place:	Time: see below in the course summary and in the course calendar Room: V23-401 (Vestergade 23, room 401)

Description of Course

Together, we will be aiming to: (1) enter into dialogue with philosophical, literary, and artistic traditions that have grappled with existential questions; (2) acquire academic skills in navigating and interpreting philosophical works, novels, and artworks; (3) develop abilities in nuancing and articulating our own views and positions in dialogue with those of others; (4) build a deeper understanding of how mind, body, intellect and creativity connect with different types of natural landscapes; (5) relate our particular lived experience of the search for happiness to universal philosophical concepts that elucidate the human condition.

Faculty

Nan Gerdes, PhD (University of Copenhagen, 2017). Postdocs at University of Copenhagen and Roskilde University in Literature and Philosophy. With DIS since 2018. Responsible for classes in week 28 and 29.

Anita Mašková, Cand.mag. (Roskilde University, 2020). PhD scholar at Roskilde University in Cultural Studies and Feminist Theory. With DIS since 2024. Responsible for classes in week 30.

Readings:

• Descartes, René. A Discourse on the Method. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008 (selection)
• Hadot, Pierre. "Only the Present is our Happiness." In Arnold I. Davidson (ed.), Philosophy as a Way of Life, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1995, p. 217-237
• Haraway, Donna. Staying with the Trouble - Making Kin in the Cthulhucene. Duke University Press, 2016. (Selections)
• Kierkegaard, Søren. Journals (selections)
• Kierkegaard, Søren. The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016 (selections)
• Kierkegaard, Søren. Stages on Life's Ways (selections)
• Mateja Kurir. “The Garden, Pleasure, and Epicurus.” In Ana Kucan and Mateja Kurir (eds.), Garden and Metaphor, Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2023, p. 276–85
• Næss, Arne. "The Place of Joy in a World of Fact." In: Drengson, A. (eds). The Selected Works of Arne Naess. Springer, Dordrecht, 2005, 2371–2382.
• Tsing, Anna, The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist ruins. Princeton University Press. (selections).
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discourse on Inequality (selections)
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Reveries of the Solitary Walker. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011 (selections)
• Voltaire. Candide, or Optimism. London: Penguin Classics, 2005 (selections)
• Wollstonecraft, Mary. Letters written in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011 (selections)

Artists and exhibitions

• Marc Chagall
• Glyptoteket
• SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark

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. We are complementing our work in the classroom with a number of outdoor activities.

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 excursions, you are asked to raise questions in relation to the assigned texts or other material, to respond to your peers’ contributions, and to collaborate in group work. Full preparation before meetings includes close textual readings, note-taking, writing of discussion posts (see below), and reflection on possible directions for our dialogue once we are together.

Students with accommodations should reach out to faculty within the first 3 days of their arrival.

If a student misses 2 classes (excused or unexcused) Academic Support at DIS will be notified. Academic Support will also be informed if you are late to class multiple times. 

You are expected to do all preparations for all classes, also classes you miss. If you miss a class, reach out to another student from class to hear if you can see their notes. Also go over the slides from class (and other material, if relevant) in the 'Slides from Class' folder in 'Files.'

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.

To aid learning and dialogue, computers and phones are not allowed in the classroom or during course related activities unless you have accommodations. Failure to comply will affect your participation grades. You may of course use the camera on your phone to take pictures when appropriate, for instance on field studies, or use devises if this is a required part of a learning activity. You will be provided with a notebook for handwritten notes.

Evaluation

No previous experience in the discipline of philosophy is required, and you will be receiving guidance in the learning process. Nevertheless, the class aims to challenge you (whatever your starting point) to apply yourself in developing your fluency in the genre, both intellectually and creatively. The purpose of the course assignments is to deepen and nuance your understanding of particular topics that deeply interest you, while acquiring tools for philosophical thinking useful across life.

Discussion Posts

In preparation for or in reaction to each class, you are asked to contribute to a discussion thread on Canvas. After having engaged with the assigned material, but before we meet in class, you will post your reflections and questions on the reading in paragraph form (ranging from 1–3 substantial paragraphs each time). This is a great opportunity to read the contributions of your peers as well. The discussion posts serve as preparatory work for your final paper.

Final Paper

The final paper (6-8 pages) will draw from and comprise content from your own discussion board posts. It will be a chance for you to bring together your reflections on the various themes we have touched upon throughout the course – into one paper. While the content of your final paper can overlap with your previous submissions (what you wrote in your discussion board posts), you must write a unique introduction and conclusion, edit the paper for clarity, and update your reflections wherever relevant. Include a unifying idea, addressed in the introduction and conclusion, and emphasized throughout wherever relevant. Don't worry if some of your content does not tie back directly to this theme; that is to be expected in this sort of assignment. 

 

Grading Breakdown

Assignment	Percent
Participation:	35 %
Discussion Posts:	35 %
Final Paper:	30 %

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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