Course Review: The Modern and the Postmodern (weeks 1-3)

Recently, I  took a course on Coursera called "The Modern and the Postmodern", taught by Wesleyan University. This entry will detail a course overview and what I learned in weeks 1-3. This course first examines the Enlightenment period, through philosophers including Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Karl Marx. In the first week, I read Kant's "What is Enlightenment?". Kant states that both religion and science can co-exist, that one does not interfere with the other. Kant thought that enlightenment and modernity enhanced society, however did not want radical change, he wanted to go about enlightenment logically and rationally. Using Kant's thoughts on enlightenment, in the second and third weeks, this course took a closer look at Rousseau and Marx's opinions. Overall, while early on, this course does not delve into art analysis much, it explains many Enlightenment figures' beliefs and philosophies. Later on, these may be useful to analyze how art was shaped in the era.

Portrait of Jean-Jaques Rousseau by Maurice Quentin de La Tour