Zeitgeist – course overview

All political regimes depend upon myths to justify their continued existence. In periods of great upheaval, these myths start to unravel. As post-war liberalism faces collapse, it is imperative we have a handle on how to think about not just the past, present and future, but that we understand the way in which concepts function historically: how do humanity’s great abstractions function over time?

What is the relationship between ideas and material forces? Are there such things as historical facts? What is the relationship between history and culture? Is history linear or cyclical? Are human beings passive vectors of forces, or do they possess the will to alter the future? 

This four-part course reads key thinkers in the philosophy of history. The sessions consider the emergence and ends of history as chaos, stasis, progress, and providence.

Introduction by Nina Power

Nina Power is a philosopher and critic. She is the author of Platforms and What Do Men Want?

Course structure

Zeitgeist is a four-part video series based on an in-person course held in London in Spring 2025.

Each of the four modules of the course consists of readings and a recorded video lecture. Modules begin with a list of questions to guide your reading.

The readings include texts by Herodotus, Vico, Condorcet, Kant, Hegel, Marx, de Maistre, Dilthey, Collingwood, Danto, Lasch, Spengler, Foucault, MacIntyre, Koselleck, and Biggar.

You can return to these materials at your own pace, without a time limit.