This course will focus on some recent developments in literary theory and related fields, especially major debates concerning the ethical act, repetition, “spectral critique,” the “formless,” new media, and embodiment. We will aim to develop a perspective on literary studies from the the point of view of the “postspectral.” Selections from texts by or about such thinkers as Gilles Deleuze, Alain Badiou, Slavoj Zizek and Bernard Stiegler will be studied. Along the way, we will touch upon a variety of topics, such as the materiality of Dante’s ghosts, lyrical pulsation in Emily Dickenson, and the war machine in the film "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence."