This week in lit. theory, we’re reading about existentialism, authenticity, and absurdity. (I repeat, this is much too much to cover in a week, but this is the reality of a survey class, so anyway…at least we come back to de Beauvoir in a few weeks, when we hit feminist theory.)
I think they’ll have fun with it. In addition to the relevant Upstone chapter that reviews these ideas, I’m having them read Sartre’s “The Wall” (which I’m hoping will blow their minds in fun ways), and also
‘s recent essay “Against Authenticity,” which will hopefully help them contextualize the theory with how it ends up playing out in our daily world.
After reading Lily’s piece, they may not be able to talk about going out for “authentic” Indian food without wincing; that’s okay with me. 
• Jean-Paul Sartre, “The Wall” (https://www.sjsu.edu/…/s0/Sartre-The-Wall-reading.pdf)
• “Against Authentic,” by E. Lily Yu (https://locusmag.com/…/e-lily-yu-guest-post-against…)