What mechanisms of exclusion accompanied the constitution of modern reason in the eighteenth century? Are the universalist ideals of the Enlightenment inherently flawed, or can they be recuperated by a more inclusive universalism? This course interrogates Enlightenment universalism by reading canonical eighteenth-century works together with texts that highlight the occult, gendered, and racialized undersides of Enlightened reason. In conversation with recent attempts to reclaim, revise, or refute the Enlightenment project, we will also explore the complex legacy of Enlightenment universalism in contemporary political and theoretical debates.
