PHI 3334 - F. Nietzsche: Over(wo)men

Credits: 4
Nietzsche’s famous announcement of the “Death of God” and its underlying critique of religion provoked his contemporaries and continues to challenge us today. His anti-Christian phrases permeated 20th/21st century culture as slogans in WWI trenches Nazi parades, bumper stickers of surfer communities in L.A., as quotations in the film “Fight Club,” and as a part of a long list of literary and cinematic items. In this course we will study the premises and consequences of this announcement and critically engage with Nietzche’s vision of the Overman and the Wild Woman. Both symbolize human existence outside of the traditional parameters of religion and mortality and propose the education of a human being who, free of resentment and calculative thinking, affirms life, honesty, creativity and perpetual transformation.