Knowledge, Power & the Obscure

Catalog description

In this Transformations course, students will consider how they know what they know - in scientific or humanistic fields - by questioning the philosophical relationship between what they see (i.e., observe) and what they say (i.e., articulate or classify) with respect to themselves and their worlds. In relation to this, they will consider their ambitions after college (professional or personal), and how they may be subjected to (or wielding) power because of the demands of discipline (e.g., productivity, skill) and regulation (e.g., health, well-being). Following that critical inquiry, students will reflect on the influence of the obscure in their lives by exploring the way in which the arts (especially cinema and literature) dissociate the capacity to see from the capacity to say, presenting issues as they are felt and perceived, but not as they are known. Film screenings outside of class will be offered.