090108 PS The notion of "weakness" in philosophical and literary texts (2023W)

Aims
The course aims to:
introduce students to the methods of academic study of philosophical and literary texts
facilitate students’ understanding of abstract notions
introduce students to the parallel study of theory and specific case studies
introduce students to modern Greek history through a specific perspective
help students engage with academic materials through active participation in class discussions as well as oral and written contributions

Content
This course traces the contours of the notion of “weakness” as it emerges in European philosophical and literary tradition. We will start with ancient Greek philosophy and Christian texts and move on to major cornerstones in the history of the notion. These include G.W.F. Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Søren Kierkegaard, Jacques Derrida, Maurice Blanchot, Giorgio Agamben, but also Samuel Beckett and John Coetzee. Whether it relates to nature, animality, religion or decision, weakness in all these cases undermines strong ideological positions and symbolic closure. This premise will serve as a guiding thread for us to explore notions of weakness in modern Greek historiography and literature, which will serve as a case study. Our focus will be texts produced in moments of historical crisis, in which weakness either represents an alternative to standard ideological responses, or undermines them from within (examples: Spyridon Zambelios, C.P. Cavafy, Georges Seferis, Yiannis Ritsos).

Method
The teaching method is based on lecture to lay down the basic ideas and explain their pertinence to the topic of the course, followed by discussion with the students. The students’ active participation and interactive response to given reading materials is an essential part of the course.