In fall semester 2012 the course offered will be: Nietzsche
PSC 330 History of Political Thought: Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche is one of the most misunderstood theorists of the Western canon. The strange circumstances of his life, the iconoclastic nature of his works, and the complicated connections (or lack thereof) between Nietzschean philosophy and movements like Nazism have created an environment where his work can be sensationalized or misunderstood. Through an examination of works like The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, Thus Spake Zarathustra and Twilight of the Idols, students will begin to separate Nietzsche’s works from sensationalized statements about his works and evaluate Nietzschean concepts like the Ubermensch, master and slave morality, and the problem of Socrates. In addition to the standard PSC 335 prerequisites, PHI 144 (Intro to Existentialism) will also be accepted as a prerequisite.
