RUMINATIONS or THE EXAMINED LIFE
Mondays at 12:30 at MSC
SYLLABUS
September 9 Introduction to the Course
Introduction of participants
Explanation of the course title
Readings for discussion:
The Ruminating Reed
“A Prayer for Old Age” –William Butler Yeats, photocopy
“Intimations of Immortality”—William Wordsworth, photocopy
“Economy”--Henry David Thoreau, first two paragraphs of Walden
and "Brute Neighbors," paragraph 5, in Walden --Thoreau
The Examined Life—the writing project
“Economy” --Henry David Thoreau, first two paragraphs of Walden
“To the Reader”—Michel de Montaigne, p. 3, The Essays: A Selection
“First Walk”—Jean -Jacques Rousseau, last 3 paragraphs, photocopy
Course overview
September 16 Man, Nature and Being
Readings for discussion:
Walden, Chapter 2 , “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For– Thoreau
Walden, Chapter 12, “Brute Neighbors,” The Battle of the Ants,
paragraph 11—Thoreau
“Nature,” opening passage –Emerson, photocopy
Rêveries of the Solitary Walker, 5th Walk, Rousseau, photocopy
September 23 Solitude and Self- Reliance
Readings for discussion:
Walden, "Solitude," Chapter 5--Thoreau
The Essays: A Selection, "On Solitude," I, 39, p,96-108,Montaigne
"Gnothe Seauton," --Ralph Waldo Emerson, photocopy
"Self-Reliance," --Emerson photocopy
September 30. Au jour le jour : Pastimes and Pleasures
Readings for discussion:
The Essays: A Selection (I,8), “On idleness” ,p. 9-10–Montaigne
The Essays: A Selection ( III, 3), “On three kinds of social intercourse” ,
p. 247-259–Montaigne,
Rêveries of the Solitary Walker, Passages from the “Seventh Walk”
Rousseau, photocopy
Walden, “Reading,” Chapter 3 -Thoreau
Walden, “Former Inhabitants,” Chapter 14--Thoreau
October 7 Final thoughts of an Examined Life
Reading for discussion:
The Essays: A Selection. ( III, 13), “On Experience,”p. 364-426--Montaigne
October 14 ( or 21?) : Thoughts about Living in Our World Today
Readings for discussion:
"Dover Beach"--Matthe Arnold, photocopy
Invisible Man, "Epilogue" --Ralph Ellison, photocopy
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, "Ourselvees"--Carlo Rovelli, photocopy
Closing discussion of the relevance of these works from the past
“Sailing to Byzantium” –William Butler Yeats
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chronology of Cited Authors
Michel de Montaigne 1533 – 1592
Essais: 1572—1588
Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712 – 1778
Rêveries of the Solitary Walker: 1777-1778
William Wordsworth 1770 –1850
“Intimations of Immortality” 1802/1804
Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803—1882
“Nature” 1836
“Self -Reliance” in First Essays 1841
Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862
Walden 1854
Matthew Arnold. 1822-1888
“Dover Beach” 1867
Mark Twain 1835—1910
Huckleberry Finn 1885
William Butler Yeats 1865—1939
“Sailing to Byzantium” 1927
“ A Prayer for Old Age “ in A Full Moon in March 1935
Ernest Hemingway 1899—1961
A Farewell to Arms 1929
Ralph Ellison 1914 --1994
Invisible Man 1952
Carlo Rovelli 1956—
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics 2014
--------------------------------------------------------
General Questions for the Readings on Solitude
l. Does location make a difference?
2. What does being alone make possible that company would preclude?
3. How does the notion of self-reliance come into play here?
4. In seeking solitude are these writers self-centered or self indulgent?
5. What images or tropes do these authors use to convey their ideas?
6. Any déjà vu in these texts?
|
|
