What is the meaning of life? What is the contingency of human existence? What role do things like gender, class, and culture have on our understanding of the world? How do we understand nihilism and the experience of boredom and meaninglessness? What shall we do about God or the ultimate reality? Can we really DO anything via freedom of choice? Existentialism is a profoundly active and engaged form of philosophy which flourished in the last century but still influences most intellectuals who wish to grapple with the world rather than simply watch from outside. This course is a study of the existentialists’ quest for understanding the struggle of human life and existence. Students will engage with classical existentialist thinkers and texts and grapple with difficult concepts, like the death of God, non-universalism, and radical freedom. We will consider ways the existentialist tradition challenges pre-existing visions of the meaning of life, including through perspectives of gender and race, but also how it provides new meanings, which are often articulated in recent forms of culture.