European Intellectual History Since Nietzsche

Lecture 1: Course Introduction and Logistics

Instructor Introduction

• Instructor: Historian with a focus on European intellectual history, especially Eastern Europe.
• Research Languages: Czech, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Slovak.
• Relevance: Ongoing war in Ukraine impacts perspective on history.

Teaching Fellows

• Daniel
• Yun-in
• Sophia
• Sebastian
• Susanna
• Matthew

Course Logistics

• Lecture Recordings: Recorded and to be posted on YouTube after semester.
• Section Registration: Online only.
• Office Hours: By appointment, mostly in-person but can be remote.
• No Electronic Devices: In-class policy to foster real-time engagement.
• Handouts: Posted on Canvas before lectures, useful for taking notes and studying for exams.
• Readings: Mostly posted online except for Kafka's "The Metamorphosis".
• Lecture-Reading-Section Structure: Lectures set up readings; sections discuss readings.
• Section Attendance: Mandatory and part of grade.

Course Design

• Level: Introductory, no prerequisites.
• Goals: Gateway into the humanities (history, literature, philosophy).
• Teaching Style: Traditional lecture course.
• Readings: Primary sources, dense, need to be read multiple times.
• Philosophers Covered: Marx, Freud, Hegel, Nietzsche, Lenin, Kafka, Husserl, Arendt, Heidegger, Sartre, Foucault, etc.

Intellectual History

• Interdisciplinary Field: Crosses history, philosophy, and literature.
• Focus: History of ideas in context, not abstract.
• Real People: Ideas tied to biographies and historical context.
• Philosophical Approach: Mostly continental philosophy.
• Analytical vs Continental Philosophy:
  • Analytical: Math, logic, purifies arguments.
  • Continental: Historical consciousness, literature, tolerates contradictions.

Modernity

• Start Date: Traditionally 1789, French Revolution.
• Characteristics: Break with tradition, new conception of time.
• Trauma and Crisis: Romantic love, Marxism, assimilation, pogroms.
• Central Problem: Alienation, replacing God.
• Focus: How thinkers deal with destabilization from loss of God.
• Course Topics: Modernity, postmodernity, post-truth.

Final Notes

• Classroom Environment: Safe space for discussion despite disturbing historical content.
• Conclusion: Overview of what will be covered in the semester.