This seminar is an introduction to Nietzsche’s thought through his On the Genealogy of Morality. We will examine some of the main concepts and motifs of his work (nihilism, the death of god, the will to power, the will to truth, knowledge, values, history, art) by considering his treatment of them in the Genealogy and tracing its development through earlier works. We will also dedicate considerable attention to the reception of Nietzsche’s thought, and the different (and disparate) figures of Nietzsche that have been drawn within the secondary literature.