The collapse of the Western empire and the transfer of the capital from Rome to Ravenna.  Lady Philosophy's role and Boethius's arguments concerning predestination versus free will and the nature of the good.

Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy Day II

Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy Day III

Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy

The nature of Humanities in general and the role of literary studies in particular.  The historical origins of the Humanist movement.  Theories concerning the unchanging human heart.  Seeing the world from a new emotional and intellectual center.

Course Ideas Overview

Literature of Crisis Syllabus

Introduction to early Greek philosophy and education.  The sophists.  The career of Socrates.  The Peloponnesian War.  Socrates' trial and defense speech.  Socrates' imprisonment.  What do you owe to the laws of your country?  Socrates' view of death.

Plato, The Apology, Crito Day II

Plato, The Apology, Crito

The intellectual crisis of the sixteenth century -- the three revolutions.  The problem of Hamlet.  The theological and moral solutions.  The Oedipal interpretation of Hamlet.  The aesthetic solution and an alternative.

Shakespeare, Hamlet Day II

Shakespeare, Hamlet Day III

Shakespeare, Hamlet

Introduction to Periclean Athens. The function of theater in Athenian society. Oedipus the King and the Peloponnesian War.  Guilt and innocence, fate and free choice.  Aristotle's "fatal flaw."

Sophocles, Oedipus the King Day II

Sophocles, Oedipus the King Day III

Sophocles, Oedipus the King

Most human lives contain major turning points: crises that transform an individual’s future development. On a much larger scale, cultures undergo crises too: political, intellectual, and religious changes that alter forever the course of human history.

The Literature of Crisis Course Introduction

The impact of Roman imperialism, Greek epic, and Stoic philosophy on Vergil's poem.  The limits and costs of power as the Aeneid presents them.  The interactions between fate and free choice in Aeneas's experience.  Optimism and pessimism in the Aeneid.

Vergil, Aeneid Day II

Vergil, Aeneid Day III

Vergil, Aeneid Day IV

Vergil, Aeneid

Voltaire's text as a re-working of classical and renaissance epic traditions. The Lisbon earthquake and its effect on Voltaire's belief system. Three solutions to the problem of evil. Candide as a critique of Optimism and Manichaeism.

Voltaire, Candide Day II, Course Finale

Voltaire, Candide

It was truly a privilege to audit this class. As a working parent - all of my money and almost all of my time is allocated - being able to listen to this fascinating class made my life rich. Thank you.

Thanks

The Literature of Crisis

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