Unit name | Philosophies of Eros: Ancient and Modern |
---|---|
Unit code | CLAS30043 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Laura Jansen |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
none |
Co-requisites |
none |
School/department | Department of Classics & Ancient History |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
What is eros and how has it been conceived across antiquity and modernity? For both ancients and moderns, eros is a concept charged with paradox, often escaping definition and categorisation. Is eros a romantic, sexual or Platonic idea? Is it a psychological, spiritual or physiological phenomenon? Should we regard eros as a single event or a long-lasting experience? Does eros unite or divide individuals? And is eros only the province of lovers? In this unit, we will survey some of the great classical and modernist writings on love, from Sappho, Plato and Ovid, to Pablo Neruda, Roland Barthes and Anne Carson. While these authors also speak of eros as an emotion, our focus will be instead on how they explore it as the object of philosophical enquiry. As we follow their works, we will concentrate on three intersecting themes: first, what sort of wisdom do their writings, emerging within their own cultures and traditions, attribute to the experience of eros? Second, how do their oeuvres contribute to eros as the history of an idea? Third, what interpretive principles and tools do we use, or have poets, philosophers, and scholars used, in trying to map out the nature and workings of love?
Unit aims:
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
This unit will involve a combination of independent investigative activities, long- and short-form lectures, and discussion. Students will be expected to engage with materials and participate on a weekly basis. Feedback will be provided for both formative and summative assessments, and this will be supported by meetings with tutors.
3,000 word essay (100%).
Select bibliography
Bartsch, Shadi & Bartscherer, Thomas (2006) (eds.), Erotikon': Essays on Eros, Ancient and Modern. Chicago. Calame, Claude (1999), The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece. Princeton.