LFU:online

The focus of this seminar, which consists of six 4-hour seminars, is on the “ancient dispute between philosophy and poetry” (Plato) in European thought. In the European history of this relationship, this dispute between philosophy and poetry or literature has often been overdetermined by ideological struggles and promises. In other words, the relationship between philosophy and literature is often secretly or openly informed by the question of politics, as can be seen in the (Romantic) phantasm of “great art/literature”. Different ways of triangulating philosophy, literature and politics in the works of Martin Heidegger, Theodor W. Adorno, Paul de Man, Alain Badiou, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, Jean-Paul Sartre and Jacques Rancière will be analyzed.

The focus of this seminar, which consists of six 4-hour seminars, is on the “ancient dispute between philosophy and poetry” (Plato) in European thought. In the European history of this relationship, this dispute between philosophy and poetry or literature is often overdetermined by ideological struggles and promises.

While the first seminar discusses Martin Heidegger's essay on the origin of the work of art, in which Heidegger deals with the question of “great art”, as well as an essay on Hölderlin, the second seminar is devoted to essays by Theodor W. Adorno and Paul de Man, which can be understood as responses to Heidegger's nationalist-ontological interpretation of Hölderlin. The third seminar deals with some short texts by Alain Badiou on the question of poetry in the “age of poets”, which, according to Badiou, begins with Hölderlin and ends with Paul Celan. The fourth seminar focuses on several important texts by Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, which, in critical dialogue with Badiou, explore the question of poetry in and after Heidegger. The fifth seminar draws on writings by Jean-Paul Sartre to analyze the relationship between poetry and prose in relation to the question of politics (keyword: democracy), and the sixth and final seminar traces Sartre's problem of the relationship between literature and democracy in Jacques Rancière's conception of a “politics of literature.” 

The main positions in the debates on the relationship between philosophy and literature discussed in the seminar will be explored in the form of student presentations and in the general discussions that follow.

To complete the course, students have two options: The first option is a presentation - the length of the presentation is supposed to be 30-35 minutes; the presentation must be fully elaborated and submitted in written form and as an email attachment to the course instructor the day before the presentation. The written form of the presentation must include a bibliographical apparatus. The written text of the presentation must have a minimum length of 10 pages (1 ½ spaces). Also, presenters must provide a 1-page handout for all the seminar participants; this handout must be in written form and has to be distributed to all participants on the day of the presentation. The presentation and the handout must be sent on time. Participants interested in giving a presentation on the texts/topics listed can contact the instructor 4-6 weeks before the beginning of the course.

The second option is a paper - the length of the paper must be at least 15 pages (1 ½ spaces). The paper must include a bibliographical apparatus. The citation style can be chosen by the author of the paper, but it must be used consistently. The topic of the paper may be determined in consultation with the instructor.

1. Heidegger, Martin: Der Ursprung des Kunstwerks. In: Heidegger, Martin: Holzwege. Frankfurt a. M.: Klostermann 2015.

2. Adorno, Theodor W.: Noten zur Literatur. Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp 1997. (In Auszügen).

3. De Man, Paul: Romanticism and Contemporary Criticism. Baltimore, London: The Johns Hopkins University 1996. (In Auszügen).

4. Badiou, Alain: Manifest für die Philosophie. Wien: Turia + Kant 1998. (In Auszügen).

5. Lacoue-Labarthe, Philippe: Heidegger and the Politics of Poetry. Urbana und Chicago: University of Illinois Press 2009. (In Auszügen).

6. Sartre, Jean-Paul: Was ist Literatur? Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt 1981. (In Auszügen).

7. Rancière, Jacques: Politik der Literatur. Wien: Passagen Verlag 2011. (In Auszügen).

Please note that the content of this course is completely identical to the content of course 607224 “Cultural Theory and Cultural Practice: Philosophy and Literature” from the Department of Comparative Literature.