PHIL5518 · Philosophy
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
Readings in the philosophy of imagination from ancient myth to post-modernity. Beginning with Biblical and Greek accounts of images and image-making, this course will explore three main paradigm shifts in the Western history of imagination: (1) the ancient paradigm of the Mirror (Plato to Augustine); (2) the modern paradigm of the Lamp (Kant to Sartre); and (3) the postmodern paradigm of the circular Looking Glass (Lacan to Derrida). The course will conclude with a critical evaluation of the political and ethical functions of imagination in our contemporary civilization of cyber fantasy, simulation, and spectacle.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.6 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.5 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.6 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.7 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~3
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect only recovered evaluations connected to this course.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Spring 2025
1 sectionSpring 2024
1 sectionSpring 2021
1 sectionSpring 2020
1 section