ENG 635 Freedom, Fate, & the Will in Renaissance Literature
This course examines the influences of the Will and of action that held sway in the Renaissance. Is free will governed by reason, overruled by our passions, or determined by divine grace? Can genuine self-determination arise within the struggles for political power? What does it mean to depict free will? We examine these issues through both literary writers and philosophical writers, including William Shakespeare, John Donne, and John Milton, as well as philosophical writers, including Niccolo Machiavelli, Marsilio Ficino, Margaret Cavendish, Desiderius Erasmus, Thomas Hobbes, and Michel de Montaigne. An interdisciplinary team-taught course.
Cross Listed Courses
PHI 635