TTEASK017U Introduction to Søren Kierkegaard
A study of the works of Copenhagen’s most radical author, Søren
Kierkegaard (1813-1855). Kierkegaard’s entire authorship is
centered around the existential project that every human being is
confronted with: to become oneself and none other than oneself. And
as he sees it, becoming oneself does not happen passively and is
never achieved once and for all, but rather requires constant
effort. He often describes this project as one of taking
responsibility for “choosing,” “gaining,” or “finding oneself.”
This course examines his witty, humorous, but also deeply earnest
exploration of the psychology of self identity. And Kierkegaard’s
thoughts about the struggle for personhood take us through perhaps
unexpected territories: beginning with the breakdown of
culture-specific ethnic and religious categories that have
traditionally defined the self, he speaks of the culturally
destructive power of Socratic irony, the art of seduction, beauty
and boredom, religious culture and politics, religious demands that
conflict with ethical duty, chronic sicknesses of the soul, the
look of the Other, the struggle to see with the eye of faith, the
joy of being embodied here and now, and finally, love.
We will remain especially attentive to the ways in which
Kierkegaard’s thought is critical of inherited ethnic and cultural
definitions of self, and why he nonetheless considers human
relationships to be absolutely essential to understanding oneself
and one’s obligations to other human beings.
The course will be reading intensive as we explore some of
Kierkegaard’s central works including The Concept of Irony,
Either/Or, The Sickness Unto Death and a handful of his edifying
discourses
Forelæsninger og diskussioner foregår på engelsk, men man må gerne
læse Kierkegaards tekster på originalsproget og aflevere opgaver på
dansk.
- Category
- Hours
- Class Instruction
- 28
- Course Preparation
- 272
- Exam Preparation
- 120
- Total
- 420
- Credit
- 15 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written assignmenta) active participation (minimum presence: 75% of all lectures); b) course literature: 1200-1500 pages; c) sub-mission of term paper (12-15 pages, based on 500-750 pages of approved literature). Evaluation is given by the teacher (Passed/Failed).
- Marking scale
- passed/not passed
- Exam period
- Winther 2014/2015 Summer 2015
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- TTEASK017U
- Credit
- 15 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterBachelor choice,Full Degree Master choice
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Spring And Autumn
- Schedule
- -
Note that the course will take place in both Autumn 2014 and Spring 2015
Autumn 2014:
Mondays and Thursdays 13-15 hrs.
Auditorium 9
First day: August 21, 2014
Spring 2015:
Mondays and Thursdays 13-15 hrs.
Auditorium 9
First day:
Thursdag, January 22, 2015 - Continuing and further education
- Price
- Study board
- Study board of Theology
Contracting department
- Theology
Course responsibles
- Kent Brian Soderquist (3-70677845787033707a336970)
Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre
Lecturers
Kent Brian Söderquist, kbs@teol.ku.dk