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Adam Lipszyc
The Trace of Judaism in the 20th Century Philosophy and Literature
I. Course description
The aim of the course is to analyze some of the most important 20th century systems of
thought that are one way or another rooted in the tradition of Judaic theology, as well as some
cases of presence of this tradition in 20th century literature. Thus, different writings will be
analyzed in which the presence of the main Jewish theological categories (such as creation,
revelation, redemption) can be identified. Because of the paradoxical nature of Judaic
revelation – a linguistic form that combines presence and absence of the divine – writings
rooted in Jewish tradition often produce fascinating conceptions of language that may be
attractive both for philosophers and literary theorists. Moreover, the fact that Messianic idea
belongs to the very core of Jewish tradition inevitably links these linguistic reflections to
ethical concern. The various forms in which elements of Judaic theology expressed
themselves in the 20th century, mingling with different traditions and vocabularies, make this
field an extremely interesting subject for studying how a (post-)theological tradition survives
in the (post-)secular age. Finally, the juxtaposition of the philosophical and the literary can
show how these two elements interact and how literature creatively distorts the products of
theory.
II. Topics and optional readings
1. Introduction: Creation, Revelation, Redemption (Gershom Scholem, Revelation and
Tradition as Religious Categories in Judaism, Toward and Understanding of the
Messianic Idea in Judaism)
2. Franz Rosenzweig: Speech and Revelation (Franz Rosenzweig, The Star of
Redemption, a fragment)
3. Martin Buber: Redemption Through Dialog (Martin Buber, I and Thou)
4. Paul Celan: Nobody’s Dialog (Paul Celan, The Conversation in the Mountains,
selected poems)
5. Walter Benjamin: Language and Justice (Walter Benjamin, On Language as Such and
the Language of Man, Karl Kraus)
6. Franz Kafka: Law and Judgement (Franz Kafka, Aphorisms, selected parables)
7. Ernst Bloch: Traces of Utopia (Ernst Bloch, Traces)
8. Bruno Schulz: Books, Golems and Colors (Bruno Schulz, selected stories)
9. Emmanuel Lévinas: Speech and Accusation (Emmanuel Lévinas, Otherwise Than
Being, a fragment)
10. Edmond Jabès: Book and the Voice of Suffering (Edmond Jabès, The Book of
Questions)
11. Jacques Derrida: Babel as Sinai (Jacques Derrida, Des Tours de Babel, Hostipitality)
12. Teodor Parnicki: Europe as the Messianic Non-Community (Teodor Parnicki, Word
and Flesh, a fragment)