What Is Being?

Department - LART
Offered - Spring
Course number - LHUM-P410

The motto of Berklee College of Music is Esse quam videri, a phrase from Cicero's essay "On Friendship," which translates as "to be, rather than to seem." This course gives students the opportunity to focus and reflect upon the differences between seeming and being, and think deeply about existence, self, and image. Organized around three interrelated themes: seeming vs. being; performance on stage and in everyday life; and the power of images and illusion in contemporary culture, the seminar requires students to consider real world issues by exploring in depth the great works of philosophy, literature and psychology. The course includes the reading and discussion of Plato's Republic, Machiavelli's The Prince, Shakespeare's Hamlet, and Cervantes' Don Quixote. Funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities Enduring Questions grant, LHUM-P410 is a unique opportunity for serious seminar-style exploration of a foundational issue in human thought.

Credits: 3
Course Chair: Darla Hanley
Prerequisites: LENG-201
Required of: None
Electable by: All