Post by Dr. Nemmers on May 29, 2024 20:03:24 GMT
As you'll be able to tell by reading the Introduction and watching the video, Existentialism largely has roots in the European tradition, especially from philosophers like Kierkegaard, Sartre, Heidegger, and more. To some extent, then, we are dealing with an imported set of ideas-- something that's alien and inimical to American shores.
On the other hand, the stories I'm having you read are examples of proto-existentialist themes and thoughts, and derive from American literature in the 1860s, 1890s, and 1930s, respectively, and emerged largely without influence from Europe. Yet these seem to share some commonalities with what European thinkers produced, as well.
So, one of the primary questions we'll be wresting with is as follows: Is Existentialism compatible or confluent with American history, attitudes, and values? Are there different strains of Existentialism, or is it universal? And what does an "American Existentialism" even look like?
On the other hand, the stories I'm having you read are examples of proto-existentialist themes and thoughts, and derive from American literature in the 1860s, 1890s, and 1930s, respectively, and emerged largely without influence from Europe. Yet these seem to share some commonalities with what European thinkers produced, as well.
So, one of the primary questions we'll be wresting with is as follows: Is Existentialism compatible or confluent with American history, attitudes, and values? Are there different strains of Existentialism, or is it universal? And what does an "American Existentialism" even look like?
