Existentialism 2.0 (UNXD-403)
Why Take This Course?
This course will first examine the radical conception of human freedom and responsibility articulated by Existentialist writers of the 20th century in response to the crisis of the two World Wars. It then goes on to propose a way of understanding cultural evolution that can help us understand the contemporary dynamics of change and conflict in a way that is both practically realistic and at the same time still consistent with a personal commitment to the dignity of human freedom and the responsibility imposes for one’s own identity as a human being.
Thursdays
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Registration opens in MyAccess at 3 PM on Monday, November 30 for all seniors.
Instructor
Dr. Francis J. Ambrosio is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. He earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Fordham University, with a specialization in contemporary European philosophy. At Georgetown University, Professor Ambrosio received the 1998 Bunn Award for Faculty Excellence and the 2000 Dean’s Award for Teaching. In 2009 he received the Dorothy Brown Award for Outstanding Teaching Achievement, given by the student body to the faculty member who has had the strongest impact on the students’ university experience. Professor Ambrosio is widely published in scholarly journals, such as the International Philosophical Quarterly, American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, and the Journal for the British Society for Phenomenology. He is the editor of the books Text and Teaching (1991) and The Question of Christian Philosophy Today(1999). In 1997, he published a study of the painting of Fra Angelico titled Fra Angelico at San Marco: The Place of Art. His most recent book, Dante and Derrida: Face to Face, was published in 2007. Professor Ambrosio teaches courses on Plato, Existentialism, hermeneutics, deconstruction, and Dante. In 2000, he founded the MyDante project at Georgetown University, which has been widely recognized as one of the most innovative and effective educational websites currently available in the field of humanities.
