Antigone in Philosophy, Contemporary Theory and Anglophone Literature
Instructor: Dr. Mina Karavanta, Assistant Professor
Contemporary theoretical debates on the demos and the ethical and political role of the citizen continue to conjure the figure of Antigone and Sophocles’ text to highlight the historical gravity of the questions of right and justice raised by the conflict between state sovereignty and individual ethical and political action and trace their transformation and development in the present. Luce Irigaray, Jacques Derrida, Judith Butler, and Bonie Honig have invoked Antigone in their texts on democracy and the political, especially in view of the economic and political crisis that the greatest part of the world is undergoing; and postcolonial authors like Femi Osofisan, Ama Ata Aidoo, Whole Soyinka, Patrick Chamoiseau and Athol Fugard have drawn on Sophocles’ text to rewrite the myth while addressing the history of colonialism and imperialism. These authors and a great number of critics who continue to examine the rich reception and rewritings of Antigone attest to the unquenched and growing interest in the questions this figure/text raises, its contribution to feminist epistemology and political theory, and the aesthetic potentiality of Sophocles’ text. The course will trace the development of this interest in Antigone, both as figure and text, and examine its contemporary theoretical and literary interpretations and rewritings with a particular focus on the themes of sovereignty and democracy, hospitality, justice and law, the polis and the demos. Finally, the comparative structure of this course with a focus on literary and theoretical texts will provide students with the opportunity to think about the connections between literature and theory as their respective but intertwined discourses contextualize and articulate the question of the political and the question of community in the present.
Students will be evaluated in the following way: One response paper (2.500-3.000 words) for 20% of the final grade; three short reports for 15%; one individual presentation for 20%; and one long research paper (5.000-6.500 words) for 45%. Students will evaluate the course at the end of the semester (anonymous and typewritten evaluations are mandatory).