Sumários

Nietzsche and the Overman

27 Setembro 2023, 14:00 • Chiara Nifosi

The class started with a student's presentation on the Prologue to Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

In the following time, we discussed the relevance of some of the key notions and features of Nietzsche's philosophy for our exploration of the modern tragic: the overman, the will to power, the eternal recurrence, the irrationality that he also puts at the center of his theory on the birth of tragedy (Apollonian vs. Dionysian). We also discussed some problematic implications of men's overcoming of themselves - the entering into a new stage of evolution where they would be completely free to construct their own moral system. We also watched the intro to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey to reflect on violence as a recurring pattern in the different phases of evolution and as the basis for civilization. We then concluded that Nietzsche's take, with his radicalization of the idea of (super)human freedom, is both a precious testimony to the staleness of inherited moral dogmas and a gloom prefiguration of violent self-affirmation of totalitarian systems in 20th-century Europe.

Kierkegaard - Ancient and Modern Tragedy

22 Setembro 2023, 14:00 • Chiara Nifosi

Today, we looked at the essay "Ancient Tragedy's reflections in the Modern" by Søren Kierkegaard. According to Kierkegaard, the tragic can be seen as a permanent structure of human consciousness, which trespasses historical boundaries and characterizes humanity as such. Nonetheless, he contends that the history of its corresponding form, the tragedy, can be better understood in light of an anthropological change occurred during what he refers to as modernity. This shift consists in the progressive isolation of the individual, who loses their ties to structures that surpass them (what he calls the dissolution of the state). In the tragedy, this change is visible in the way modern aesthetics is centered on individual guilt as the source of pain (to be distinguished from the non-reflexive feeling of sorrow that he associates with ancient tragedy). We also discussed the case he makes for Sophocles' Antigone and how he introduces a further feeling, anxiety, as a pertinent tool to describe the core of the play, reinterpreted through a modern lens.

Intro to "Modern European Tragedy"

20 Setembro 2023, 14:00 • Chiara Nifosi

(The class was rescheduled and was held on Tu, Sept. 26)

During this class we did a recap of the theoretical introduction made so far on tragedy (Aristotle and Kierkegaard), also by looking at Cascetta's introduction to her book Modern European Tragedy. While we reinforced our understanding of the difference between the tragic as an object of philosophical reflection and the tragedy as a dramatic genre, we also discussed the notion of limit intended as a particular way to reinterpret the idea of destiny itself in a modern setting. Then, we read together the passage about the different manifestations of the notion of limit in modern theater (biological limit, absolute evil, meaninglessness of language, etc.) since these categories are going to inform, at least partially, our readings. I also provided a very brief introduction to the main theatrical trends of 20th-century French theater (nihilism and absurdism, engagement, counter culture, symbolism, etc.), which also represent productive settings where the notion of tragic is explored over the century.

Aristotle, "Poetics"

15 Setembro 2023, 14:00 • Chiara Nifosi

The second session of Week 1 consisted in the analysis and discussion of the section of Aristotle’s Poetics where he develops his theorization of the tragedy. We did a close reading of the very first paragraphs of the excerpt (“Definition” and “Basic elements of tragedy”) in order to isolate some key notions, namely representation/mimesis, pity and fear, purification, moral character and performance. We discussed the primacy of the action and the characteristics of the plot from Aristotle’s perspective and we started to take a look at his legacy in French theater (the three unities in French Classicism/17^th-century drama, as well as their critique with the “drame romantique” – see quotes from Boileau and Hugo in the slides).

Introduction

13 Setembro 2023, 14:00 • Chiara Nifosi

The first session mostly focused on a short introduction to the course (objectives, materials, assessment, optional activities, etc.). The students introduced themselves and shared some preliminary impressions on expectations and background knowledge of the topic at stake. After that, we started an open discussion on the general difference between the tragedy as a genre – its conventions and literariness – and the tragic as a transhistorical notion that we will study in relation to 20^th-century French drama. We also discussed the notion of modernity – namely its instability. Quotes from Lawrence, Ionesco, and Meschonnic were used to start the conversation in class (see slides in the Drive).