Working (on) Concepts in the Humanities

Catalog description

Concepts are usually thought of as cognitive tools, constituents of thought used for categorization/inference/memory/learning/decision-making. We shall think about them as effects of a language game whose rules change across genres, media, and discursive regimes. Looking for these rules and analyzing them comparatively, we shall ask how concepts are formed/displayed/performed, when do we need them/can we do without them. We shall read philosophers (Plato, Descartes, Kant, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze), intellectual historians (Koselleck, Skinner), literary works (Kleist, Kafka, Musil), and look at some conceptual art. Advanced juniors, seniors and graduate students welcome. Enrollment limited to 20.