Arts One texts
The shape of things falling apart
I’m participating in the open online digital storytelling course called DS106, which is happening on a shortened, 7 week schedule until about mid-May. For the first week, we were asked (among other things that I didn’t have time to do because I’m still teaching right now) to think about the shapes of stories. Two things […] Continue reading →
Catherine Morland: more interesting than I first thought
In Arts One this term we read Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (we’re reading the “Oxford World’s Classics” edition, edited by James Kinsely and John Davie, so that’s what the page numbers below refer to). In class we discussed how the protagonist, Catherine Morland, seems not a terribly interesting character. She’s naive, simple-minded, easily swayed by […] Continue reading →
Césaire, Walcott and Henri Christophe
[In the Arts One group in which I’m teaching, this week we read two plays about King Henri Christophe of Haiti, one by Aimé Césaire called The Tragedy of King Christophe (mid 1960s) and one by Derek Walcott called King Christophe (1949)]. In class today I had planned to have us talk about the […] Continue reading →
What the heck are the “laws of nature” for Hobbes?
No, I don’t mean which laws of nature does he list–that’s easy. The first two, in Chapter 14, state: 1. Everyone should “endeavour peace” when it is possible to attain; if not, we can engage in “war.” 2. We should be willing to transfer our natural right to all things in the state of […] Continue reading →
Why is Faustus such an unsympathetic character?
I am somewhat persuaded by the reading of Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus that suggests Marlowe is providing an anti-Calvinist play rather than a morality play (but please don’t take that to mean I don’t want you all to argue otherwise in your essays if you wish!). In short, the play can be read as criticizing […] Continue reading →
Why is Faustus such an unsympathetic character?
I am somewhat persuaded by the reading of Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus that suggests Marlowe is providing an anti-Calvinist play rather than a morality play (but please don’t take that to mean I don’t want you all to argue otherwise in your essays if you wish!). In short, the play can be read as criticizing […] Continue reading →
Antigone, alone
[For anyone who regularly reads this blog (are there such persons? :)) I should explain that from time to time I’ll be writing posts on particular texts as part of teaching in the Arts One program. Students are blogging about these texts, and when I have time, I will do so too. You can see […] Continue reading →
