French Political Philosophy

Catalog description

The middle of the twentieth century in France was a rich period of intellectual production, as well as a moment of intense social upheaval and political turmoil. This course studies the development of political philosophy in the 1950s in France. In particular, the course focuses on the way in which philosophical movements in France like existentialism and poststructuralism became increasingly sutured to their historical context and were thus compelled to critically engage with this historical situation - i.e., to confront capitalism, colonialism and patriarchy as philosophical problems. This course examines the relationship between these philosophical movements and the development of Marxism, postcolonial theory and feminism in French philosophy.