The course will focus on philosophies of history and the historico-philosophical underpinnings of modern (post-Enlightenment) literary criticism. We will pay particular attention to the interpretive tradition known as hermeneutics and its implications for translation, as well as for philological and socio-historical approaches to literature. Readings will include (selections from) the following: Theodor Adorno, “Lyric and Society”; Erich Auerbach, Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature; Walter Benjamin, “Theses on the Philosophy of History”; W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk; Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method; Clement Greenberg, “Abstract Art”; G. W. F. Hegel, Philosophy of History; Reinhart Koselleck, Futures Past; Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Savage Mind; Karl Marx, Capital; Friedrich Schleiermacher, “The Different Methods of Translation.”