Nova PhDs

So, I think I have changed my mind a bit on the 19th Century class. I don't think I am going to order the Pinkard book for the class. It is a great book, and will still influence the way I do the class, but I think it is a bit too large to use for solely introductory purposes. I think, rather, that I am going to begin the class by reading a shorter essay by Robert Pippin on the "Kantian Aftermath."

I am also now strongly considering reading some pre-Hegel primary sources. Continuum has a book called Philosophy of German Idealism that has selections from Fichte, Jacobi, and Schelling (including perhaps the most kick-assedly titled philosophy essay ever, Fichte's "A Crystal Clear Report to the General Public Concerning the Actual Essence of the Newest Philosophy: An Attempt to Force the Reader to Understand").

What do you all think of reading selections from Fichte, Jacobi, and/or Schelling in an undergrad class?

I also could use a bit of advice on one of my other classes. Next fall I am also teaching a lower-level class called "European Worldviews," in which we will basically read a few philosophy texts, divided up into the categories(/"worldviews") "Enlightenment," "Romanticism," and "Existentialism." For each of the categories, we will also look at how the philosophy influenced/meshed with arts and literature.

In terms of determining what to teach in the class, I have a good handle on the following things:

1. the Enlightenment philosophy texts
   
2. the Romantic art/literature
   
3. the Existentialist philosophy and art/lit
   

Can any of you suggest something for the following?:

1. Works of art (including music) and/or literature to pair with the
   Enlightenment?
   
2. a philosophical work to pair with Romanticism that might be readily
   accessible to non-majors?
   

Any and all help is greatly appreciated...

Next fall semester, I am going to be teaching an upper-division undergraduate course on 19th Century Philosophy. I have a general idea of what areas I want to cover, and some idea of the books I want to use. I would like to pick your brains for some help on both counts, though.

First, here are the four general areas I intend to cover, in the order that I will do them in class:

1) A background-setting section where we discuss Kant and the development of German Idealism after Kant. I intend this to be a relatively brief introductory portion of the class.

2) A fairly in-depth discussion of Hegel. I imagine this taking up roughly half of the semester.

3) A discussion of Marx. I want this to rest on a sort of "Marx after Marxism" reading, where we focus on Marx as a philosopher in the German Idealist tradition.

4) A discussion of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. I would like to read each of them as being "post-Hegelian," or critics of German Idealism.

I am pretty tied to this structure, but am certainly willing to hear arguments that I am overemphasising things or leaving things out. What I am really more interested in, though, is advice on what texts to use. So here is what I am thinking of for each of the four sections:

1) I think I will use a secondary source for this part of the class, and am leaning toward Terry Pinkard's German Philosophy 1760-1860. I am curious to see if anyone thinks I should A) read some pre-Hegelian primary sources (Fichte's Vocation of Man, possibly?) or B) use some other secondary source.

2) For Hegel, I think I will use the Hegel Reader edited by Houlgate. This is largely because I want to do some of the Phenomenology and some of the Philosophy of Right (and there might be other things to use in this reader as well). Any arguments for doing Hegel differently (for example, possibly using just the Phenomenology)?

3) I am pretty set, I think, for the Marx section, and will probably use parts of the German Ideology and Grundrisse.

4) Here is where I really need help. What Kierkegaard and Nietzsche texts do you think would work best? If I pick the ones I know the best, it would be Fear and Trembling and The Genealogy of Morality. I have the feeling, though, that there are other texts that would work better with the Post-Hegelian theme. Any advice?

So there it is. Any and all advice or criticism is welcome.