PHIL 220/CLS 207 (Winter 2014): Introduction to Critical Theory
Course Time: MoWe 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Location: Harris Hall 107
Professor: Mark Alznauer (m-alznauer@northwestern.edu)
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday 8:50-9:50am (Crowe 3-167)
CLASS DESCRIPTION: In this class, we will focus on the foundations of critical theory in the works
of Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, and Weber, paying particular attention to the methods they deploy in
the treatment of moral and religious phenomena. Lectures will primarily involve a close analysis
and discussion of the readings.
TEACHING METHOD: Lecture with Discussion Sections
EVALUATION: Assessment will be based on section participation, a quiz, two papers, and a take
home assignment.
Section attendance and participation: 20%
Midterm: 20%
First paper (1000-1500 words): 15%
Take-home assignment: 15%
Second paper (1500-2000 words): 30%
READING LIST: The following can be found in the bookstore. Some additional readings will be
made available on the Blackboard site. Please use these translations.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Marx-Engels Reader, second edition, edited by Richard
Tucker (Norton, 1978) ISBN-10: 9780393090406
Friedrich Nietzsche, 'On the Genealogy of Morality' and Other Writings: Revised Student
Edition (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) [STUDENT EDITION] ISBN-
10: 052169163X/ ISBN-13: 978-0521691635.
Sigmund Freud, The Freud Reader, edited by Peter Gay (Norton, 1995) ISBN: 0-393-31403-0
Max Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, ed. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills
(Routledge, 2007) ISBN: 978-0415436663 (Note: The older, Oxford edition (1946) is
perfectly fine, though out of print.)
PAPERS: Paper topics will be given in class. Papers are expected to be double-spaced, in the font
style of Times New Roman. Papers should not exceed the maximum length indicated. Please
record the word count at the end of the essay.
All papers require a separate cover page. On the cover page, you need to include your name,
your student ID number, the title of your paper, the date, and the name of your section leader.
On the first page of your paper, both the title of the paper and your student ID number should
be included at the top of the page. It is important that you do not include your name anywhere
in the body of the paper. This is to ensure the anonymity of the grading process.
Extensions for papers are not available in this course except in extraordinary circumstances
(contact your T.A. ahead of time should you think that your circumstances fit this description).
Late papers are penalized 1/2 a grade for every 12 hour delay. No papers will be accepted that
are more than 3 days late. Stapled hard copies of all papers should be submitted in class or
enclosed in opaque envelopes and delivered to the mailbox of your section leader at the office
of the Department of Philosophy, 1880 Campus Drive (Kresge Hall), 2-335. Electronic copies of
every paper also need to be submitted to SafeAssign through the course blackboard site. There
will be strict enforcement of NUs guidelines for academically honest research (for details, see
http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/uniprin.html).
Schedule:
Week 1:
Mon: CLASSES CANCELLED
Wed.: Introduction (no reading)
Week 2:
Mon: Marx, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 147-63, pp. 172 (last paragraph)-175.
Wed.: Marx, Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 186-200, pp. 143-45, and Preface of 1859 (blackboard)
Week 3:
Mon.: NO CLASSES 1/20 (Martin Luther King Day).
Wed.: Marx, Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 294-98; pp. 302-12.
Week 4:
Mon: Marx, Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 319-29
Wed: Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morality, Preface, Part 1, pp. 3-34.
Week 5:
Mon: Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morality, Part II, pp. 35-67. FIRST PAPER DUE 2/3
Wed: Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morality, Part III, pp. 68-95.
Week 6:
Mon.: Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morality, Part III, pp. 95-120.
Wed.: MIDTERM 2/12
Week 7:
Mon: Freud, The Dissection of the Psychical Personality (blackboard)
Wed: Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, pp. 722-46.
Week 8:
Mon: Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, pp. 747-72.
Wed: Weber, The Social Psychology of the World Religions, pp. 267-280; Religious Rejections
of the World and their Directions, pp. 323-330.
Fri: Take-Home Assignment (handed out in sections; due on Monday)
Week 9
Mon: Weber, Religious Rejections of the World and their Directions, pp. 331-359.
ASSIGNMENT DUE 3/3
Wed: Weber, Politics as a Vocation, pp. 115-28 (skim the rest); Socialism (blackboard)
Week 10
Mon: Weber, Science as a Vocation, pp. 129-56.
Wed: Conclusion on science and ideology, reading TBD SECOND PAPER DUE 3/12
Note: There is no final in this course.
