Science and Poetry

“Science and Poetry,” Gilles Deleuze suggests, “are equal forms of knowledge”. This course will take this suggestion seriously. Institutionally, what is understood as “science” and what is understood as “literature” is—and has been for some time—strictly separated. But this has not always been the case. During the first section of this course, we will seek inspiration from the past, looking to a time before “science” as we know it emerged: the time of astrology, anatomical theatres, and the grandmasters of cartography. Next, we will investigate the rise of modernity, during which science and literature have in fact been far more intertwined than is typically realized. Here we will examine the relation of literature and science in the development of psychology and psychoanalysis, the discovery of quantum physics, and the rise of the novel. Finally, we will explore the consequences of the contemporary environmental crisis for the interplay between science and literature. Do we live in a time when approaching science and literature as “equal forms of knowledge” has become a necessity? If so, how can we imagine this scientific-literary space?

Satisfies General Education Requirements:

• Group-Satisfying: Arts and Letters
• Multicultural Courses: International Cultures (IC)