Truth & the Poet: Introduction to Phenomenology and Lyric Thinking
COL 232
Spring 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
PHIL 217 |
| Course Cluster and Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory Certificate |
What is lyric poetry? What is phenomenology? Can poetry think phenomenologically? What can phenomenology tell us about the way lyric poetry communicates experience? What is the nature of poetic experience, and how does it relate to the structure of experience more generally? What is the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity in experience and the meaning that we give to it? This course provides a foundation for (1) ways of reading and discussing lyric poetry, and (2) understanding and engaging with the school of philosophical thought known as phenomenology. We will read poems from a wide variety of periods, languages, and cultures including Sappho, Césaire, Vallejo, Plath, Dickinson, Rilke, Rimbaud, Stevens, Baudelaire, Dylan, and many others. We will build a basic approach to phenomenology through select readings of Husserl and Heidegger. This course is designed for students with no prior knowledge of philosophy or poetry. By working interdisciplinarily with various thinkers and poets, this course will introduce or continue familiarity with close reading in the College of Letters and other areas of the humanities. This course is recommended but not required prior to taking COL 309 (The Poet & Truth). |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA COL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
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