Course Details

Religious Conversion and Literature

Spring 2008 - Classics 98/198 - Units: 1

Shortcuts:     decal.org/592

      What happens in Christian conversion?  Is it a purely psychological phenomenon?  Is it always preceded or accompanied by powerful religious experience?  Does it involve fundamental changes in one’s convictions—intellectual, ethical and theological?  How is it a spiritual journey embarked on by the soul?  Does conversion merely happen to one, or is it rather something pursued?  We shall examine these questions by looking at two autobiographical, first-hand accounts of conversion.  We shall begin with The Confessions of Saint Augustine, an ancient literary classic written by the Fourth-Century monk and rhetorician Augustine of Hippo that retells his journey from sin to sainthood. Then we will segue into Surprised by Joy, written by the Twentieth-Century Christian apologist C.S. Lewis, which recounts the author’s search for joy and his journey through different spiritual terrains before returning to Christianity.  Both authors were prominent Christian thinkers in their own times whose influence lasts to this day.  Much of the class will focus also on comparative literary analysis, with the purpose of addressing questions such as: Are we to consider first-person narrative accounts of conversion as ordinary autobiographies?  What elements keep us from doing so?  How are we, as readers, to relate to such writings?  What intent or purpose did their authors have in mind, and did they accomplish it?

      Classes shall meet weekly.  Attendance is mandatory.  The class will be seminar-style: heavily oriented around discussion, with short lectures given to provide background context to the works we read.  The readings will be around 40-60 pages per week, and should take 1-2 hours.  There will be two papers, one midterm and one final, each 2-3 pages in length.   Students will be expected to (i) attend class and complete the reading assignments for each week, (ii) fully participate and engage one another in discussion by responding to others’ questions and asking ones of their own, and (iii) turn in both papers.

Enrollment Info:

CCN's will be given out on the first day of class, February  5th, 2008.

Course Contact: judgehensley AT gmail.com

Faculty Sponsor: Kathleen McCarthy

 

Section	Facilitators	Size	Location	Time	Starts	Status	CCNs
	[?] Judge Hensley	—	243 Dwinelle	Tu 5:00-6:30	—	open	—

 

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Course info last modified January 23, 2008. This page has been viewed 1965 times.