John Barbour: Conscience in Literature
Expanded Description: The course will involve guided discussion of multiple writings. Required texts, available on-line at bookfinder.com or at Northfield’s Content bookstore:
- Shakespeare, Hamlet. Signet. ISBN: 9780451526922 (new as low as $5.79, used as low as $3.49)
- Albert Camus, The Fall. Vintage. ISBN:0679720227 (new as low as $10.26, used as low as $4.69)
- E. M. Forster, Howards End. Penguin. ISBN 014118213X (new as low as $10.47, used as low as $3.49)
- Paul Strohm, A Very Short Introduction to Conscience. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 019956969X (new as low as $8.46, used as low as $5.89)
All other readings will be provided, either as an attached pdf document or by a link to an online version.
Tentative weekly schedule:
- Origins of conscience in Western thought. Brief remarks on Greek thought. Hebrew Bible: 2 Samuel 11-12:25; Jeremiah 17:9-10 and 31:31-34; New Testament: I Corinthians 8 and 10; Romans 2:12-16, 7:14-25; 13:1-5; Augustine: Confessions, Book 8, chapters 5-12 and Book 10, chapters 30-41; [if time: selections from Luther’s Commentary on Galatians];
Strohm, A Very Short Introduction to Conscience, introduction and chapter 1
- A dramatic case of conscience: Shakespeare’s Hamlet
- 18th and 19th century essays and stories: Strohm, Short Introduction, chapter 2; Bishop Butler, “Upon Self-deceit”; Samuel Johnson, “Self-deception”; Immanuel Kant, “Conscience”; Melville, “Bartleby the Scrivener”; Excerpt from Huckleberry Finn
- A great novel and an overview of the history of ideas about conscience: E. M. Forster, Howards End, chapters 1-14; Strohm, Short Introduction, chapter 3
- Howards End, chapters 15-31; Strohm, chapter 4
- Howards End, chapters 32-44; Strohm, chapter 5
- Albert Camus, The Fall
- Essays, a story, and a poem about conscience: Judith Martin, “The Oldest Virtue”; George Orwell, “Shooting an Elephant”; George Saunders, “The Falls” [in Pastoralia]; Donald Hall, “Cider, 5 cents a Glass”
[Other possible readings for discussion: Excerpts from Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird;
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. Some movies to consider: Crimes and Misdemeanors; The Lives of Others; Changing Lanes; Grand Canyon—will resolve as we get closer to deadline]