SYLLABUS-IN-PROGRESS

Religious Studies 777 / Cultural Studies & Critical Theory 777 (Fall 2013)

The Theopolitical in Continental Philosophy and Jewish Thought

This syllabus is posted at http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/danahol/777 and is also accessible by way of my home page (see below).  It will be updated periodically, and students in the class are asked to consult it regularly during the semester.

updated November 14, 2013

Dana Hollander, Department of Religious Studies, University Hall 109, (905) 525-9140, ext. 24759*, danahol@mcmaster.ca*,
http://univmail.cis.mcmaster.ca/~danahol/

*in your phone and e-mail messages, please let me know how I can reach you by phone

Office Hours:  Mondays, 5-6 p.m., or by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Against the background of Carl Schmitt's famous 1922 elaboration of the idea of "political theology," we will explore diverse considerations of theopolitical themes in works by Benjamin, Derrida, and Agamben. By way of studying Leo Strauss's Philosophy and Law (1935) and Moses Mendelssohn's Jerusalem, or On Religious Power and Judaism (1783) among other texts, we will also consider whether there is a sense of "political theology" that specifically captures the relationship of Judaism and the political.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

• Regular attendance, careful preparation of readings, and participation in class discussion.
• 1-3 in-class presentation(s) designed to introduce one or more of the readings for class discussion.
• A paper (15-20 pages), preceded by a paper proposal (1-2 pages, plus bibliography, due November 15), on a topic chosen in consultation with me, due December 13. 

Grades will be based on Participation/Presentations 45%, Final Paper 55%.

September 9

Organizational Meeting

September 16

Introduction: Political Theology, Judaism and Politics

Carl Schmitt, Political Theology. Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty (1922), trans. George Schwab [purchase book], chaps. 1-3

original: Politische Theologie. Vier Kapitel zur Lehre von der Souveränität  [book to be placed on reserve]

Leo Strauss, Philosophy and Law (1935), trans. Eve Adler (1995)  [purchase book]: Introduction

original:  Philosophie und Gesetz in Philosophie und Gesetz. Frühe Schriften, vol. 2 of Gesammelte Schriften [book on reserve]

Supplementary:

Heinrich Meier, "What Is Political Theology?" in Interpretation 30 (2003).  (Also see: Meier, The Lesson of Carl Schmitt (1994), chap. 3; and Meier, Leo Strauss and the Theological-Political Problem, trans. Marcus Brainard (2003; Cambridge UP, 2006) [books on reserve].)

Background Reading on "Political Theology":

Hent de Vries, "Introduction: Before, Around, and Beyond the Theologico-Political" in de Vries and Lawrence E. Sullivan (eds.), Political Theologies. Public Religions in a Secular World (2006) [book on reserve]

General Readings/Resources on Judaism and Politics/History:

Ismar Schorsch, "On the History of the Political Judgment of the Jew" (1976), in From Text to Context: The Turn to History in Modern Judaism (1994) [book on reserve]

Menachem Lorberbaum, "Introduction" to Politics and the Limits of Law. Secularizing the Political in Medieval Jewish Thought (2001) [book on reserve]

-----, "Politics and Religion: Politics and Judaism" (2005) in Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed. [online]

The Jewish Political Tradition, ed. Walzer, Lorberbaum et al. vol. 1: Authority (2000), vol. 2: Membership (2003) [books on reserve]

General Readings/Resources on "Jewish Philosophy":

Ze'ev Levy, "The Nature of Modern Jewish Philosophy," in The History of Jewish Philosophy (1997/2003)

Paul Mendes-Flohr, "Jewish Philosophy and Theology" in The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, ed. Martin Goodman (2002)

Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought, ed. Arthur A. Cohen and Paul Mendes-Flohr (1987)

September 23

Carl Schmitt, cont'd

The Concept of the Political (1927-1932), trans. George Schwab [purchase book], pp. 19-79

Supplementary: Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy (1926), trans. Ellen Kennedy [book on reserve], pp. 18-50.


Further Resources on Schmitt:

Lars Vinx, "Carl Schmitt" (2010) in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

David Dyzenhaus, "Friend and Enemy: Schmitt and the Politics of Law," chap. 2 of Legality and Legitimacy. Carl Schmitt, Hans Kelsen and Hermann Heller in Weimar (1997) [book on reserve]

Ellen Kennedy, Constitutional Failure. Carl Schmitt in Weimar (2004), chaps. 3-4 [book on reserve]

SPECIAL MEETING TIME: October 15, 4-6 p.m.

original: Jerusalem oder über religiöse Macht und Judentum, ed. David Martyn, or in Mendelssohn, Gesammelte Schriften. Jubiläumsausgabe, Band 8 [books on reserve]