REL 372
Nietzsche
and Religion

This course will cover Nietzsche's major writings on the topic of religion. It will also touch on such themes as language, power, subjectivity, history, and philosophy. The emphasis will be on close readings of primary texts, always with a view to issues of interpretation. The Nietzschean understanding of interpretation, and the problems of how to interpret a text, will both be part of the way in which the texts are read. Prerequisites: one course in Religious Studies, Philosophy, or equivalent (e.g., Blount, Western Civ., etc.)

Spring 2006 Syllabus (PDF)

Dr. Tim's Guide to Expository Writing (PDF)

"Nietzsche has written what he has written." 00000000Jacques Derrida

Online Readings

Dr. Tim Murphy
tmurphy@rel.as.ua.edu

Office: Manly 209
Class: TR, 3:30-4:45
Location: Manly 210
Office Hours: Wednesday, 11:00-12:00 or by appointment

Michael Focault, "Nietzsche, Genealogy, History" from "Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews"

Hans-Georg Gadamer, "The Universality of the Hermeneutical Problem"

Alexander Nehamas, "A Thing is the Sum of Its Effects" from "Nietzsche: Life as Literature"

Friedrich Nietzsche, Book 1 from "Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality"

Friedrich Nietzsche, Book 2 from "Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality"

Friedrich Nietzsche, "The Religious Life" from "Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits"

Friedrich Nietzsche, "On Truth and Lying in an Extra-Moral Sense"