This book provides a history of the systemization and canonization of existentialism, a quintessentially antisystemic mode of thought. Situating existentialism within the history of ideas, it features new readings on the most influential works in the existential canon, exploring their formative contexts and the cultural dialogues of which they were a part. Emphasizing the multidisciplinary and global nature of existential arguments, the chosen texts relate to philosophy, religion, literature, theater, and culture; and reflect European, Russian, Latin American, African, and American strains of ... More

This book provides a history of the systemization and canonization of existentialism, a quintessentially antisystemic mode of thought. Situating existentialism within the history of ideas, it features new readings on the most influential works in the existential canon, exploring their formative contexts and the cultural dialogues of which they were a part. Emphasizing the multidisciplinary and global nature of existential arguments, the chosen texts relate to philosophy, religion, literature, theater, and culture; and reflect European, Russian, Latin American, African, and American strains of thought. Readings are grouped into three thematic categories: national contexts, existentialism and religion, and transcultural migrations that explore the reception of existentialism. The book explains how literary giants such as Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy were incorporated into the existentialist fold and how inclusion into the canon recast the work of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, and it describes the roles played by Karl Jaspers and Martin Heidegger in Germany and the Paris School of existentialism in France. Chapters address not only frequently assigned works but also underappreciated discoveries, underscoring their vital relevance to contemporary critical debate. Designed to speak to a new generation’s concerns, the book deploys a diverse range of voices to interrogate the fundamental questions of the human condition.