HISC 208 Humanism and its Critics

Examines modern humanism and its critics in a trajectory composed of three moments: foundational texts of 19th century humanism and some of their 20th century interpreters, the critiques of humanism launched by structuralist/post-structuralist continental theory in the 1960s that dealt with the essentialization of the human (theoretical anti-humanism), and contemporary critiques that take issue with anthropocentrism (posthumanism/transhumanism). Students consider thematics that have shaped humanism and the controversies surrounding it including questions of secularism, morality, and materialism, essentialism and class/gender/racial identity, anthropocentrism, and universalism. Readings include Feuerbach, Marx, Sartre, Heidegger, Foucault, Althusser, Haraway, Braidotti, and Ferrando.