Sex, Money, Power: Mapping Modernity from Marx to Arendt

GERM30922 Sex, Money, Power: Mapping Modernity from Marx to Arendt 20 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 3 Sebastian Truskolaski Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 In an influential 1982 study, the critic Marshal Berman cites a formulation from the communist manifesto, whereby ‘to be modern is to be part of a universe in which … “all that is solid melts into air”’. According to Berman, the experience of modernity thus involves at least two steps: first, the dissolution of traditional certainties regarding everything from our sense of self to the organisation of our societies; and second, the countless, often contradictory efforts to regain a sense of orientation in this context. Perhaps not coincidentally, some thinkers who have significantly contributed to unsettling such time-honoured beliefs, while also inaugurating new ways of understanding the modern world, hail from the German-speaking lands: Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Hannah Arendt, among others. By introducing these author’s writings on political and libidinal economy---on art, culture, and identity---this unit asks: what might their accounts of ‘Sex’, ‘Money’, and ‘Power’ mean to us today?  In an influential 1982 study, the critic Marshal Berman cites a formulation from the communist manifesto, whereby ‘to be modern is to be part of a universe in which … “all that is solid melts into air”’. According to Berman, the experience of modernity thus involves at least two steps: first, the dissolution of traditional certainties regarding everything from our sense of self to the organisation of our societies; and second, the countless, often contradictory efforts to regain a sense of orientation in this context. Perhaps not coincidentally, some thinkers who have significantly contributed to unsettling such time-honoured beliefs, while also inaugurating new ways of understanding the modern world, hail from the German-speaking lands: Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Hannah Arendt, among others. By introducing these author’s writings on political and libidinal economy---on art, culture, and identity---this unit asks: what might their accounts of ‘Sex’, ‘Money’, and ‘Power’ mean to us today?  - To develop knowledge and understanding of the concept of modernity and key expressions thereof in the fields of political and libidinal economy, as well as art and culture.- To develop key competencies in the critical analysis of key texts in modern intellectual history- To develop critical thinking and higher order conceptual reasoning and analytical skills- To develop advanced skills of written and verbal communication  On successful completion of this course unit, students will be able to:<ul><li>manage time and work to deadlines</li><li>participate constructively in group activities  </li><li>assess the relevance and importance of the ideas of others</li><li>present information, ideas and arguments, orally and in writing, with due regard to the target audience</li><li>demonstrate powers of analysis </li></ul> <ul><li>Understand the concept of modernity in relation to key tenets of Marx’s critique of political economy, Nietzsche’s critique of religion and morality, Freudian psychoanalysis, and Arendt’s theory of power.</li><li>Know some key themes and forces that shaped German, European, and Global society since the mid-19th century.</li></ul>   <ul><li>Develop critical thinking, i.e. capacity to abstract, analyse and make critical judgements</li><li>Synthesise and analyse data and information</li><li>Make a reasoned argument for/against a particular point of view</li></ul>   <ul><li>Use library, electronic, and online resources</li><li>Write essays and give oral presentations</li></ul>   <ul><li>Retrieve information, i.e. develop ability independently to gather, sift, synthesise and organise material from various sources (including library, electronic and online resources), and to critically evaluate its significance</li><li>Present information, ideas and arguments, orally and in writing, with due regard to the target audience</li><li>Improve literacy, i.e. the capacity both to make written presentations using appropriate language for a target population and to collect and integrate evidence to formulate and test a hypothesis</li></ul>   Lecture topics may include:<ol><li>The concept of modernity (e.g. via Marshal Berman)Marx, modernity, and alienation (e.g. via Extracts from the 1844 Manuscripts)</li><li>Marx, modernity, and commodity fetishism (e.g. via Extracts from Capital, Vol. 1)</li><li>Nietzsche, modernity, and the death of God (e.g. via extracts from The Gay Science)</li><li>Nietzsche, modernity, and the Übermensch (e.g. via extracts from Thus Spoke Zarathustra)</li><li>Freud, modernity, and the unconscious (e.g. via extracts from The Interpretation of Dreams)</li><li>Freud, modernity, and the uncanny (e.g. via The Uncanny)</li><li>Arendt, modernity, and political power (e.g. via extracts from The Origins of Totalitarianism)</li><li>Arendt, modernity, and the power of evil (e.g. via extracts from Eichmann in Jerusalem)</li><li>Modernity and modernism (e.g. via Paul Ricoeur) </li></ol> <ul><li>Weekly one-hour lecture (synchronous, but recorded and shared via UoM Podcasting) </li><li>Weekly two-hour seminar (synchronous, but all materials shared digitally)</li></ul> 2 Written assignment (inc essay) 60% 3 Report 40% 7 Oral assessment/presentation 1% N <ul><li>Berman, Marshal, All That is Solid Melts Into Air: The Experience of Modernity (London: Verso, 1982)  </li><li>Marx, Karl, The Marx-Engels Reader, ed. Robert C. Tucker (New York: W.W. Norton, 1978)</li><li>Marx, Karl, Capital, Vol. 1, trans. Paul Reitter, eds. Paul North & Paul Reitter (Princeton: Princeton UP, 2024)</li><li>Nietzsche, Friedrich, The Gay Science, trans. Walter Kaufmann (New York: Random House, 1974)</li><li>Nietzsche, Friedrich, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None, trans. Walter Kaufmann (New York: Random House, 1995)</li><li>Freud, Sigmund, The Penguin Freud Reader, ed. Adam Philips (London: Penguin, 2006)</li><li>Arendt, Hannah, The Origins of Totalitarianism (London: Penguin, 2006)</li><li>Arendt, Hannah, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (London: Penguin, 1922) </li></ul> Lectures 11 Seminars 22 0