1. Critically
analyse the theological/messianic moment in Benjamin’s reflections on history
and violence.
2. Explore the theme
of “natural history” in the writings of W G Sebald.
3. Explore the
concept of the “creatureliness” in the early novels of J M Coetzee’s. What is
the philosophical import of this concept?
4. Schmitt’s
analysis of the “state of
exception” has played a significant role in post 9/11 political theory. Analyse
the strengths of this contribution but also its possible weaknesses
5. Todorov offers a
robust contemporary defense of humanism. To what extent do you think his
critical humanism meets the critical objections levels by the theorists of
‘mere life.”
6. Explain Agamben’s
derivation of the concept of “bare life” from Foucauldian bio-politics. Is his
position authentically Foucauldian?
7. Examine Agamben’s
appropriation of Schmitt’s state of exception. Consider a democratic response
to this analysis and evaluate the relative merits of both positions.
8. Critically
examine the creaturely dimension of Adorno and Horkheimer’s Dialectic of Enlightenment.
9. Eric Santner
suggests that Kafka belongs to the tradition of creaturely life. Critically
evaluate the concept of the creaturely in Kafka’s short stories. Does he offer
anything new to the themes already considered in our course?
