GERM60922
Sex, Money, Power: Mapping Modernity with Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, and Arendt
15
Semester 2
Postgraduate Taught
Level 7
Sebastian Truskolaski
Unit coordinator
1
FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 '
European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 7.5
<p>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, four 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. By introducing these author’s writings on political and libidinal economy – on art, culture, and identity – this unit asks: what do ‘Sex, Money’, and ‘Power’ mean to us today? </p>
<p>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, four 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. By introducing these author’s writings on political and libidinal economy – on art, culture, and identity – this unit asks: what do ‘Sex, Money’, and ‘Power’ mean to us today? </p>
<ul><li>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.</li><li>To develop key competencies in the critical analysis of key texts in modern intellectual history</li><li>To develop critical thinking and higher order conceptual reasoning and analytical skills</li><li>To develop advanced skills of written and verbal communication </li></ul>
<p>On successful completion of this course unit, students will have a knowledge and understanding of: </p><ul><li>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>the key themes and forces that shaped German, European, and Global society since the mid-19th century. </li></ul>
<ul><li>Critical thinking – capacity to abstract, analyse and make critical judgements </li><li>Synthesis and analysis of data and information </li><li>Critical reflection and evaluation </li><li>Expression – able to make a reasoned argument for a particular point of view </li><li>Decision-Making – able to draw reasoned conclusions </li></ul>
<ul><li>Using library, electronic and online resources </li><li>Essay writing and oral presentation technique</li></ul>
<ul><li>Information Retrieval – 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>Presentation – present information, ideas and arguments, orally and in writing, with due regard to the target audience</li><li>Literacy – 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><li>Time Management – ability to schedule tasks in order of importance and work to deadlines</li><li>Improving own Learning – ability to improve one's own learning through planning, monitoring, critical reflection, evaluate and adapt strategies for one's learning </li></ul>
Analytical skills
demonstrate powers of analysis
Group/team working
participate constructively in group activities
Innovation/creativity
assess the relevance and importance of the ideas of others
Oral communication
present information, ideas and arguments, orally, with due regard to the target audience
Written communication
present information, ideas and arguments, in writing, with due regard to the target audience
Other
manage time and work to deadlines
<p>Lecture topics may include:</p><ol><li>The concept of modernity (e.g. via Marshal Berman)</li><li>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>
<p>1 x 1-hour lecture / 1 x 2-hour seminar per week. </p>
2
Written assignment (inc essay)
100%
<figure class="table"><table style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 0%);border-style:solid;"><tbody><tr><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 0%);border-style:solid;">Written commentary/essay feedback</td><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 0%);border-style:solid;">Summative</td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 0%);border-style:solid;">Post-essay tutorials, if desired</td><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 0%);border-style:solid;">Summative</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>
Y
<p>Indicative Reading List:</p><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