This course will focus on Western discussions of the problems of human nature and society from Frankenstein to Freud. We will not so much trace a clear-cut transition from Romanticism to modernism as we will consider the continuing influence of the Enlightenment and Romanticism on developing modern thought and culture. Readings and discussions will focus on discourse about the nature of humanity, the capabilities of the human mind, and the relationship between the individual and society. Each of these topics points to an overarching question that seriously troubled 19th-century thinkers and writers: what role would spiritual interpretations of human life play within the context of modernity? Course readings will include literary, political, and philosophical works, which will be treated as elements of an interrelated cultural discourse rather than as specialized, unrelated texts.