Scribner Seminar Program
Course Description

Being your self

Instructor(s): Catherine Talley, World Languages and Literatures

An exploration of selfhood in the twenty-first century. In this class, we will think about a self not as something you simply have or are, but as something you do and that is done to you. What is special about how we do selfhood now, in neoliberal societies marked by hyper-individualism and competition. Students will consider how our selves are shaped by the ways we think about work, debt, health, and happiness, combining interdisciplinary approaches from history, political economy, philosophy, psychology, and cultural studies. Students will also reflect on how pressure to maximize their own productivity and wellbeing shapes how they think about college.

Course Offered:

• Fall 2024