The Literature of Crisis
By Martin Evans and Marsh McCall
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Description
Our lives are not simply given to us, Socrates used to maintain, but also something we make. As we examine the circumstances of our existence, recognizing certain facts as immutable and others as subject to our control, we all face the challenge of fashioning out of them a way of living that is both meaningful and justifiable. "The Art of Living" explores different ways to think about the nature of that challenge -- how to accommodate conflicting demands and values, how to make our choices "artfully," how to use works of imaginative literature to inspire us. Should we regulate our behavior socratically, according to rigorous standards of reason? Must we seek to conform ourselves to God's wishes? Should we fashion values for ourselves through our own artistic activity? Or could we follow some other strategy altogether? To take a stand on these questions, to decide how to live well and beautifully, is at the same time to answer why we live at all.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
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1 |
Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy Day II | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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2 |
Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy Day III | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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3 |
Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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4 |
Course Ideas Overview | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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5 |
Literature of Crisis Syllabus | -- | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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6 |
Plato, The Apology, Crito Day II | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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7 |
Plato, The Apology, Crito | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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8 |
Shakespeare, Hamlet Day II | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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9 |
Shakespeare, Hamlet Day III | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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10 |
Shakespeare, Hamlet | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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11 |
Sophocles, Oedipus the King Day II | 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." | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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12 |
Sophocles, Oedipus the King Day III | 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." | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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13 |
Sophocles, Oedipus the King | 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." | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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14 |
The Literature of Crisis Course Introduction | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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15 |
Vergil, Aeneid Day II | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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16 |
Vergil, Aeneid Day III | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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17 |
Vergil, Aeneid Day IV | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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18 |
Vergil, Aeneid | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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19 |
Voltaire, Candide Day II, Course Finale | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
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20 |
Voltaire, Candide | 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. | 3/30/2007 | Free | View in iTunes |
| 20 Items |
Customer Reviews
Boisterous professor
The professor seems to waste the valuable time of his students.
More yelling than teaching.
Character *is* fate!!! 🤯
Thanks Prof. McCall.
Thanks
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.
