This course is an examination of the modern problematic of the Enlightenment. It deals first with a series of essays written in Germany towards the end of the eighteenth century on the question: "what is Enlightenment?" We will attempt to contextualize the debate before moving on to twentieth-century questions about the legacy of the Enlightenment. Does the Enlightenment still concern us? Have we been "enlightened? What does it mean to be enlightened and is it really a good thing? Several of the leading intellectuals of the twentieth century have faced these questions--Horkheimer, Foucault, and Habermas among them--, and we will read their arguments closely.

There will be six short paper paper assignments to be chosen from among eight possibilities, requiring you to answer a specific question about the reading in no more than three pages, and a final, longer essay of 12-15 pages, which will deal with one central issue of the Enlightenment and how it is dealt with today. Papers should be analytical, based on close reading of texts. Note that the paper assignments for January 19 and January 26 are required by all students in the class.

The course involves a balance between close reading of the assigned materials, discussion of the texts in class, and the writing of carefully constructed essays. Class attendance and participation in the discussion is required. The final paper will count for 50% of the grade, and the average grade of the best four short papers will count for 50%. Papers must be submitted on time, and there will be no extentions for the final paper, leading to an incomplete.

There are two texts required for this course:

Dorinda Outram, The Enlightenment

James Schmidt, ed., What is Enlightenment? Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions

Both texts are available in the UCLA bookstore and can be ordered through amazon.com.

January 12. Introduction

January 19. The Debate I
Assignment: Kant, "An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment," in Schmidt, pp. 58-64
Outram, pp. 1-13
Paper topic to be announced. (Required paper)

January 26. The Debate II
Schmidt, pp. 49-83, essays by Möhsen, Mendelssohn, Reinhold, Wieland
Paper topic to be announced. (Required paper)

February 2. Publicity
Schmidt, pp. 87-141, essays by Klein, Bahrdt, von Moser, Fichte
Outram, pp. 14-30
Paper topic to be announced. (Optional paper)

February 9. Religion
Schmidt, pp. 145-187, Essays by Hamann and Riem
Outram, pp. 31-62
Paper topic to be announced. (Optional paper)

February 16. Politics
Schmidt, pp. 191-231, essays by Jacoby, von Moser, Tieftrunk, Bergk
Outram, pp. 96-113
Paper topic to be announced. (Optional paper)

February 23. Historians look at the issues
Schmidt, Introduction, pp. 1-44, and pp. 235-341
Outram, pp. 80-95

March 2. Twentieth Century I
Schmidt, pp. 345-381, essays by Bittner, Horkheimer, and Picht
Outram, pp. 114-127
Paper topic to be announced. (Optional paper)

March 9. Twentieth Century II
Schmidt, pp. 382-425, essays by Foucault and Habermas
Paper topic to be announced. (Optional paper)

March 16. Twentieth Century III
Schmidt, pp. 426-532, essays by Böhme and Böhme, Kneller, Schott, Hinchman, Geiman
Paper topic to be announced. (Optional paper)