Course Description:

The European intellectual tradition is characterized by the strong links between academia and society. Many of the most important European thinkers of the 19th and 20th Centuries worked outside of the universities – and many of those who did pursue an ordinary academic career also were public commentators frequently intervening in political discussion of the day and in some cases gaining considerable influence. In this course we present a selection of European thinkers who have been important both as scholars and as public intellectuals. We read and discuss samples of their work and look at critical discussion of their ideas. We also reflect on the time and place of the “European” – to what extent their work is quintessentially Eurocentric and to what extent awareness of cultural contingency emerges.

See the course in the UI course catalogue here.

Learning outcomes:

Students will:

• Increase their critical understanding of the European intellectual tradition by acquaintance with texts of some key authors of the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries.
• Acquire good understanding and knowledge of each individual’s complex web of affiliation within his communal and national culture.
• Be able to place their own professional debates within the broader context of theoretical discourse in the field of foreign languages and/or literature.
• Acquire and demonstrate competence in the analysis, explanation and presentation, oral and written, of specific research topics.
• Become acquainted with the following authors by reading and discussing selected parts of their works: John Stuart Mill, Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Simone De Beauvoir, Stuart Hall, Chantal Mouffe and Hartmut Rosa.

Course schedule and assessment:

• Course schedule:
  • Weekly lessons on Thursday mornings (90 mins per lesson) from 14 January to 15 April 2027.
  • Please note that classes will be scheduled on Icelandic time (GMT +0)
• Mode of study
  • Distance learning with the possibility of real-time participation in online meetings. Sessions will be recorded and made available to students.
• Assessment:
  o Students are expected contribute a short weekly commentary on the readings, which will be referred to in class discussion, and responded to online by instructor. Students give one presentation during the course. In a final (oral) exam students will be asked to elaborate on their work during the semester, both the weekly contributions and their presentation.
• Students will receive a transcript of records upon completion of the course.

Application procedure:

Students apply via the University of Iceland’s application portal.

All students must attach to their application:

• a copy of their current transcript from their home institution
• and the information page of their passport or another form of valid travel ID to their application.

Application deadline is 1 December 2026.

Applications will be answered by 15 December. All relevant information will be sent to accepted students, with acceptance letters and instructions on how to access the Canvas online learning platform.