Fall 2024, CairoShort Course
Enlightenment to the Death of God: A Philosophical Journey
Course details
- Cycle
- Fall 2024, Cairo
- Format
- In person
- Taught in
- English
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About the course
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the philosophical developments from the Age of Enlightenment to the existential crisis marked by Friedrich Nietzsche's proclamation of the "Death of God."
Students will critically examine the evolution of ideas, societal shifts, and the cultural landscape that shaped Western thought during this transformative period.
The journey begins with the Enlightenment, an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that championed reason, and individualism as means of understanding and improving human society.
The course culminates with Nietzsche's provocative proclamation of the "Death of God" and its implications for morality, religion, and human existence.
We then delve into the 20th-century philosophical landscape, exploring the rise of existentialism and the questioning of traditional beliefs and values, focusing on existential themes such as individual freedom, anxiety, and the search for meaning in a seemingly indifferent universe.
Throughout the course, students will engage in critical analysis, and class discussions to develop their understanding of the intellectual, cultural, and philosophical shifts from the Enlightenment to the existential crisis of the 20th century.
Who teaches it
Mae is currently the Humanities and Social Sciences Supervisor in one of the leading EdTech companies in Egypt. She holds an MA in Philosophy from the American University in Cairo. For five years, she worked as a teaching and research assistant at the same university, a Freelance Translator, and a Journalist for different online and offline platforms. She co-founded Mubtadaa' (مبتدأ), an initiative for teaching humanities and social sciences to high school students in Arabic. Mae also was a student, co- fellow and lastly she served as the Philosophy residential fellow in CILAS bridge program last year.
From the fellow Note: This reading list is tentative and subject to revision. Additional readings or modifications may be incorporated throughout the course to enhance learning and address emerging topics of interest.
Course reading list
- “What is Enlightenment?” by Immanuel Kant
- Excerpts from The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche
- “The End of Metaphysics” by Martin Heidegger
- Excerpts from "Existentialism is a Humanism", by Jean-Paul Sartre
- Excerpts from The Dialectic of Enlightenment by Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno
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