Kierkegaard s Authorship: On the Loss and Recovery of Meaning University of Copenhagen / DIS Fall Semester 2018

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1 UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN Kierkegaard s Authorship: On the Loss and Recovery of Meaning University of Copenhagen / DIS Fall Semester 2018 Class Meetings: Mondays 12:00-14:30. Room: University of Copenhagen, South Campus, Room 6B.0.22 Course Instructor: K. Brian Söderquist kbs@sk.ku.dk Computer policy: No computers in class. No net, no texting during class. Course Content: This English language course offered by the Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre at the University of Copenhagen is open to Danish students as well as international students interested in contemplative reading and discussion of the works of Copenhagen s most radical author, Søren Kierkegaard ( ). His authorship assumes that just under the surface of everyday awareness, the modern individual experiences herself as someone fragmented, fractured, misaligned, imperfect, incomplete, splintered, and cracked. Something isn t quite right inside, even if it s difficult to say exactly why. Kierkegaard suggests that this sense of misalignment is intensified by the fact that the inherited value systems that make life negotiable have lost their authority over us. On the one hand, this means we gain greater freedom from the limitations imposed by tradition and history. On the other hand, we sense a profound uncertainty, even anxiety, about the choices we make as we face an open future. This freedom can be both invigorating and foreboding. His entire authorship can be viewed as an exploration of various reactions to this fundamental insight. His thoughts about the struggle for meaning take us through unusual philosophical territory. His works which are as novelistic as they are philosophical treat themes like the existential meaning of anxiety and despair, beauty and boredom, humor and seriousness, the sicknesses and health the soul, the joy and pain of embodiment, and, finally, commitment and love. The course will be reading intensive as we explore some of Kierkegaard s central works including On the Concept of Irony, Either/Or, The Sickness unto Death, Works of Love, and some of his devotional works. Readings: Completion of reading assignments as scheduled is required and is a prerequisite for participating in class discussions. Lectures and Discussion: In general, class will be a combination of lecture and class discussion. Class participation includes attendance and the quality of contributions that students make in class. It also incorporates classroom manners, which include attentiveness and alertness. Short Papers: Three short papers (4-5 double spaced pages) will be assigned during the course of the semester. Late papers will be penalized a half-grade for each day after the due date.

2 Research Paper: An analytical/interpretive paper will be due toward the end of the semester. The University of Copenhagen requires a paper of 19,200-24,000 characters including spaces for bachelor s students, including DIS students. This is roughly equivalent to double-spaced pages. The requirement is 28,800-36,000 characters including spaces for KU master s students. This is roughly equivalent to double-spaced pages. You must include a character count on the front page of your paper. (You must receive a passing grade on the research paper to receive a final grade in the course. Late papers will be penalized a half-grade for each day after the due date.) Danske studerende må gerne skrive på dansk. Attendance: Class attendance is required, including classes with guest lecturers. According to KU policy, all students must be present 75% of the time to receive a grade. (For DIS students: the DIS Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student Affairs, must be notified if you are absent two times or more). Plagiarism: Any student who plagiarizes will fail the course. Course Evaluation: Research paper: 45% First short paper: 15% Second short paper: 15% Third short paper: 15% Attendance and Participation: 10% Course texts: These books can be purchased at the South Campus Bookstore: Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or, trans. Alastair Hannay, London: Penguin Books, ISBN Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness unto Death, trans. Alastair Hannay, London: Penguin Books, ISBN Søren Kierkegaard, The Lily in the Field and the Bird of the Air, trans. Bruce Kirmmse, Princeton: Princeton University Press, ISBN Pdf readings on Absalon: Selections from Kierkegaard s Journals and Notebooks Selections from On the Concept of Irony Selections from Oxford Handbook of Kierkegaard Selections from Works of Love Selections from The Moment For students who read Danish: Kierkegaards samlede værker, Søren Kierkegaards Skrifter (SKS), findes på nettet: I have provided references to SKS for every reading (e.g., Danish: SKS 4, ) in this reading plan. (Note: To see page breaks, place a checkmark in the middle box, next to SKS, on the top left-hand side of the screen). There is a substantial collection of books at the library at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre at the University of Copenhagen. 2

3 For DIS students: DIS students should pick up their texts at the DIS Library, Vestergade 23 Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: Course Enrollment and Grading Attendance Coursework, Exams, and Final Grade Reports 3

4 Detailed Course Outline 1. Mon. Aug. 27 What is Kierkegaard s Authorship About? - Kierkegaard in Ten Minutes (pdf on Absalon and DIS Canvas). 2. Mon. Sept. 3 On the Concept of Irony: Kierkegaard on the Truth and Untruth of Irony. - Oxford Handbook of Kierkegaard, chap. 18, Irony (pdf on Absalon). - On the Concept of Irony: The Conception Made Necessary and Irony after Fichte, pp , (page numbers refer to the published book) (pdf on Absalon) (Danish: SKS 1, , ). Mon. Sept Mon. Sept. 17 Either/Or I: A on Aesthetics and Actuality. - Preface to Either/Or, authored by Victor Eremita, pp (Danish: SKS 2, 11-22) - The Unhappiest One in Either/Or, authored by A, pp (Danish: SKS 2, ). 4. Mon. Sept. 24 Either/Or I: A on Boredom and Nothingness. - Diapsalmata by A, in Either/Or, pp (Danish: SKS 2, 25-52). - Crop Rotation by A, in Either/Or, pp (Danish: SKS 2, ). Sat. Sept. 29- Sun. Sept. 30 Weekend Study Tour to North Sjælland. 5. Mon. Oct. 1 Either/Or II: Wilhelm/ B on Taking Ownership of Choice. - The Equilibrium Between the Aesthetic and the Ethical by Wilhelm, in Either/Or, pp (Danish: SKS 3, ). First short paper due Fri. Oct. 5 Mon. Oct Mon. Oct. 15 Either/Or II: Wilhelm/ B on Taking Ownership of Oneself. - The Equilibrium Between the Aesthetic and the Ethical by Wilhelm, in Either/Or, pp , (Danish: SKS 3, ). 4

5 7. Mon. Oct. 22 Concluding Unscientific Postscript: The What and the How Sickness Unto Death: The Self as a Synthesis. - Concluding Unscientific Postscript, pp ; ; (Danish: SKS 7, ; ; ). - Sickness Unto Death, pp , (Danish: SKS 11, ). Second short paper due Fri. Oct. 26 Mon. Oct Mon. Nov. 5 Sickness Unto Death: Not to Want to be a Self and to Want to be a Self. - Sickness Unto Death, pp , (Danish: SKS 11, ). Wed. Nov. 7, 18:00 Film Night Film: Synecdoche, New York Location TBA 9. Mon. Nov. 12 Sickness Unto Death: Despair is Sin. - Sickness Unto Death, pp (Danish: SKS 11, ). 10. Mon. Nov. 19 The Lily and The Bird: Learning about Finitude from the Natural World. - The Lily in the Field and The Bird of the Air, pp (Danish: SKS 11, 7-48). 11. Mon. Nov. 26 Works of Love and The Moment: A Socratic Mission. - Love Seeks Not Its Own in Works of Love (Danish: SKS 9, ) (pdf on Absalon). - My Task in The Moment 10 (Danish: SKS 13, ) (pdf on Absalon). Third short paper due Fri. Nov. 30 The research paper is due on Fri., Dec. 14 Late papers will be penalized a half-grade for each day after the due date. 5