1367.20 - Moby Dick in a Philosophical Light (BA)

1367.20

Moby Dick in a Philosophical Light (BA)

10

Students must have completed the required core component of the BA in Faroese. This course can also be taken as an individual course with other prerequisites (please refer to the academic programme in force).

The purpose is to read and discuss the novel Moby Dick from a philosophical perspective.

The novel Moby Dick by the American author Melville is considered to be one of the most important novels of the 19th century. Based on historical events, the book tackles a plethora of phenomena and issues. Among these are: Western philosophy, the Bible, Shakespeare, life at sea, industrial whale hunting, societal critique, view of nature, etc. The book has accurately been compared to a prism with many facets. During the course, these areas will be discussed with emphasis on philosophical aspects.

Presentations by the lecturer and students as well as discussions.

The students will acquire: • Ability to read and discuss philosophical texts at a high level of abstraction • Ability to work with ideas and definitions • Insight into literature and philosophy and possible connections between these • Ability to, in an organised way, discuss philosophical questions in literature • Insight into the history of philosophy

Restricted written home assignment; 2 weeks; intended length 10-12 pages.

External

7-

Changes to the following list may occur: Melville, Herman: Moby Dick, 1851 Philbrick, Nathaniel: In the Heart of the Sea, 2000 Philbrick, Nathaniel: Why read Moby-Dick, 2011 Delbanco, Andrew: Melville. His World and Work, 2005 Greer, Mary Zettelman: Moby-Dick. Charting the Depts: A Navigational Tool for Readers of Herman Melville´s Masterpiece, 2019 Anderson, Mark: Moby-Dick as Philosophy: Plato – Melville – Nietzsche, 2015 Jensen, Carl Jóhan: Terningar, søgur av tilvild, 2019

Jógvan Dalbø Hansen