The Enlightenment was one of the most intensely creative and significant episodes in the history of Western thought. This course will provide an introduction to its major works, and will consider its implications for modern politics, culture, and social life. Each class meeting will consist of a two-hour discussion, followed by a 45-minute background lecture on the subsequent week's readings.
The eighteenth-century Enlightenment was one of the most exciting, important, and controversial periods in all history. Out of it came ideas that would have a direct influence on modern politics and social thought, inspiring generations of reformers and revolutionaries. But from the very start it has attracted enormous criticism as well. It was also a period in which the greatest works of thought were written for broad public consumption, in the form of novels, plays, stories, poems, dialogues and essays. They are intensely readable. What to make of the Enlightenment? Find out for yourself in a seminar that will read through its most famous and provocative works, from Montesquieu and Voltaire to Immanuel Kant and Mary Wollstonecraft. There are no pre-requirements other than intellectual curiosity, but first-year students should meet with the professor before enrolling.