ENGH361

Explores three of the most influential, revolutionary, and controversial thinkers of the past two hundred years: Karl Marx (1818-1883), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Devoted to a close reading of each thinker's works. Examines what each has to say about human self-understanding, value, history, and time, and try to develop some familiarity with the terminology each developed to explain his new account of human beings and the worlds they create for themselves and each other. Contemporary relevance is also highlighted: Marx for the ongoing crisis of capitalism; Nietzsche for a world dramatically divided over values and beliefs; Freud for his reflections on the psychic costs of living in modern civilized society.