Fall 2023

Our forthcoming off-year political campaigns

Our deeply divided nation once again confronts a pivotal off-year election season. We will explore the issues at the forefront of the emerging campaigns, and evaluate the social, cultural, and political forces that are likely to be determinative.

Thursday, September 14 (online) 1-3pm

The Existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre

No person is more clearly associated with Existentialism than Jean-Paul Sartre. We will discuss his life, character, and relations with Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus, as we explore what Existentialism meant for him, and why it has had such wide-ranging cultural influence.

Thursday, November 9 (online) 1-3pm

Martin Heidegger and The Meaning of Being

Often considered the leading European philosopher of the 20th Century, Martin Heidegger has been both highly influential and deeply controversial, never more so than with his ambiguous relation to the Nazis. We will introduce students both to his brilliant philosophy, his controversial politics, and his unorthodox affair with his student and then very significant Jewish social theorist and philosopher Hannah Arendt.  

Wednesday, December 6 (on campus) 1-3pm