LIT-253 Evil in the Age of Enlightenment

Eighteenth-century men and women of letters were preoccupied with the problem of evil: how can we reconcile the existence of evil with the existence of a benevolent God? If human nature is naturally moral, where do sin and cruelty come from? This course will study literary representations of illness, disaster, malice, and oppression in a range of genres to investigate how Enlightenment writers came to terms with the idea—and the everyday reality—of evil. Readings include Voltaire, Mary Jones, Marquis de Sade, Matthew Lewis, William Godwin, and Mary Shelley.

Maximum Enrollment

Standard Course (40)

Credits

1

Prerequisite

One course in Literature

Notes

(History or Theory).