TTEASK008U Søren Kierkegaard: The Individual Between the Religious and the Secular(Summer - July 2024)

Volume 2024/2025
Content

Once again, the Faculty of Theology is pleased to offer a course on the thought of Søren Kierkegaard in his hometown and at his own university. In this concentrated summer course, you will study alongside students from Denmark as well as countries throughout the world.

This course serves two purposes: First, it offers a general survey of the thought of Denmark’s most globally famous philosopher and Christian theologian, Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855); second, it specifically assays Kierkegaard’s interrogation of becoming an individual in the dynamics between the religious and the secular.

Kierkegaard’s authorship centers on the existential project of becoming oneself. According to Kierkegaard, this is a difficult ethical and religious task that presents itself to every human individual—and at the same time, it is a task that demands the individual challenge their preconceptions about the content and limits of both morality and religiosity. In brief, Kierkegaard’s interpretation of Christianity requires that the individual confront and develop a new relationship to their own religiosity, in addition to what is ethically required of them.

In this course, students will engage with several of Kierkegaard’s major works in order to formulate answers to the following questions:

  1. What are the goals and structure of Kierkegaard’s existential project, and how does it hang together?
  2. How does Kierkegaard conceive the relationship between significant conceptual dyads, including: religious/secular, Christian/non-Christian, theology/philosophy, faith/reason, Christendom/‘Paganism,’ and sacred/ordinary history?
  3. How can Kierkegaard’s thinking be deployed in philosophical, ethical, and political discussions of today, and to what extent do Kierkegaard’s thoroughgoing Christian commitments generate challenges for applying his thinking outside of specifically Christian contexts and communities.

 

Every week, there will be an afternoon excursion into the heart of Kierkegaard’s Copenhagen. We will visit some of Kierkegaard’s most beloved locations in Copenhagen, where we will do onsite readings and discuss the central dimensions of his thought.

For more information about course details click here:

http://teol.ku.dk/uddannelser/sommerkurser/

Learning Outcome

In general, class will take the form of a lecture followed by a dialogue between instructor and the students. Readings will be assigned for each class and the discussions will focus on these readings. Additionally, there will be a weekly afternoon excursion. Instruction will be in English, and we will refer to English translations of Kierkegaard during class, but you are welcome to read and consult translations in your native language.

Computer policy: No surfing or texting during class.

Class instruction
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Total
  • 28
Oral
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Type of assessment details
Undergraduate requirements (bachelor students):

Requirement to pass the course for undergraduate students (bachelor students):
a) Familiarity with a reading list (primary and secondary literature) of 1,200-1,500 pages. b) Active class attendance (at least 75% attendance as documented in the attendance record) and the preparation of a written homework assignment, which is 24,000-28,800 characters, ie 10-12 pages, based on 400-500 pages of primary literature.

The assignment is assessed by the teacher according to the 7-point grading scale.

Graduate requirements (kandidat/master students):

Requirement to pass the course for graduate students (kandidat/master students):
a) Familiarity with a reading list (primary and secondary literature) of 1,200-1,500 pages. b) Active class attendance (at least 75% attendance as documented in the attendance record) and the preparation of a written homework assignment, which is 36,000-48,000 characters, ie 15-20 pages, based on 800-1,000 pages of literature.

The assignment is assessed by the teacher according to the 7-point grading scale.
Marking scale
7-point grading scale