The Problem With Evil

Catalog description

This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the examination of evil as a concept that has fascinated and horrified humans throughout history. Through religions, social norms, philosophies and literatures, people have attempted to define evil in order to explain, and make meaningful, aspects of life that seem otherwise incomprehensible or unbearably senseless. The course explores the construction and uses of evil as a defining term, and its impact on nations, communities and individuals. Students read a wide range of texts across broad historical and cultural spectrums, looking for the answers to this question that continues to perplex and captivate us.