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The Procession of the Trojan Horse into Troy (1760)Giovanni Domenico TiepoloNational Gallery, London
Course Details:
Course Details:
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Mondays and Wednesdays (17:30 - 18:50)
Location: Virtual
“War in Literature” – War has profoundly shaped human history and experience. The history of war presents us with the spectre of unspeakable carnage and death. War forces us to confront our human finitude and mortality in a way that the life of peace does not. Literary narrative is an important means by which we shape our understanding of the meaning of war and of our finite human existence. The literary tradition provides various historical attempts to find meaning in the face of the suffering and loss of life resulting from war.
We will explore the different ways works of literature have charted paths for this understanding of the meaning of the suffering and loss resulting from war. We will begin with classical works of literature wherein war arises as an arena in which one’s life can be defined by glory, honour and duty. We will then read works of literature that are representative of the modern experience of war as ultimately meaningless and bereft of any higher significance.
Historical Perspective
Historical Perspective
In the modern world we often have a flat sense of history -- without depth or "perspective". For instance, we often think of Shakespeare as a figure from our remote past. In the broader view of our tradition, however, the writing of his Henry V (1599) is much closer to us (separated by only 423 years) than:
The time-span separating Shakespeare's Henry V from Virgil's Aeneid (19 BCE) (1620 years of separation), or
The time-span separating Virgil's Aeneid from Homer's Iliad (750 BCE) (731 years of separation).
Lecture and Reading Schedule
Lecture and Reading Schedule
WEEK 1
WEEK 1
Jan 10: Introduction
Jan 10: Introduction
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
Jan 12: Introduction
Jan 12: Introduction
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
- War in Literature: An Introduction
The lecture explores at a high level the different ways works of literature have charted paths for the understanding of the meaning of the suffering and loss resulting from war. In classical works of literature, war arises as an arena in which one’s life can be defined by glory, honour and duty. In modern works of literature, war is ultimately meaningless and bereft of any higher significance.
WEEK 2
WEEK 2
Jan 17: Homer
Jan 17: Homer
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
An introduction to Homer's works, including discussions of: why one should study Homer, the mythical background behind the Iliad and the Odyssey, the "Homeric Question", and the characteristics of Homer's genre: epic.
Jan 19: Homer
Jan 19: Homer
Required Reading:
- The Iliad, Book 1
Lecture Outline:
- Homer's Iliad: Poem of War and Death
An introduction to Homer's Iliad focusing on the inter-related themes of war and death. This lecture covers: honour (time) and glory (kleos) in Book 1 and the nature of Mycenaean warfare as depicted in the epic. It is argued that the ultimate significance of Homer's poem is the way it sheds light on the human condition and the meaning we can find in finite human existence.
WEEK 3
WEEK 3
Jan 24: Homer
Jan 24: Homer
Required Reading:
- The Iliad, Books 9 and 16
Lecture Outline:
- Homer's Iliad: Poem of War and Death
An introduction to Homer's Iliad focusing on the inter-related themes of war and death. This lecture covers Books 2 to 9, focusing on the nature of the gods in the Iliad. It is argued that the ultimate significance of Homer's poem is the way it sheds light on the human condition and the meaning we can find in finite human existence.
Jan 26: Homer
Jan 26: Homer
Required Reading:
- The Iliad, Books 9 and 16
Lecture Outline:
- Homer's Iliad: Poem of War and Death
An introduction to Homer's Iliad focusing on the inter-related themes of war and death. This lecture covers: Books 10 to 17, with particular emphasis on Homer's sense of the greatness of the ancestors, the nature of Homer's epic similes and on the aftermath of the Death of Patroclus.
WEEK 4
WEEK 4
Jan 31: Homer
Jan 31: Homer
Required Reading:
- The Iliad, Books 18, 22 and 24
Lecture Outline:
- Homer's Iliad: Poem of War and Death
An introduction to Homer's Iliad focusing on the inter-related themes of war and death. This lecture covers Books 18 to 21, focusing on the depiction of the Shield of Achilles and on Achilles' Aristeia.
Feb 2: Homer
Feb 2: Homer
Required Reading:
- The Iliad, Books 18, 22 and 24
Lecture Outline:
- Homer's Iliad: Poem of War and Death
An introduction to Homer's Iliad focusing on the inter-related themes of war and death. This lecture covers Books 22 to 24, focusing on the death of Hector and Priam's journey to ransom Hector's body. It is argued that the ultimate significance of Homer's poem is the way it sheds light on the human condition and the meaning we can find in finite human existence.
WEEK 5
WEEK 5
Feb 7: Virgil
Feb 7: Virgil
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
- Virgil's Aeneid: War and History
This lecture presents an initial introduction to Virgil's epic: namely, an overview of the plot, a discussion of who is Aeneas and an introduction to the work and overall intention of Virgil.
Feb 9: Virgil
Feb 9: Virgil
Required Reading:
- The Aeneid, Books 1 and 2
Lecture Outline:
- Virgil's Aeneid: War and History
This lecture covers the cultural and historical background of Virgil's epic: namely, the historical context of the Aeneid in the decline of the Roman Republic and the civil strife of the 1st Century BCE, the ambiguity of Virgil's relation to the Greek tradition and to philosophy, and the question of Virgil's attempt to celebrate the Roman achievement and the "way of the ancestors".
WEEK 6
WEEK 6
Feb 14: Virgil
Feb 14: Virgil
Required Reading:
- The Aeneid, Books 4 and 8
Lecture Outline:
- Virgil's Aeneid: War and History
This lecture presents a discussion of Book 1 (the Opening of the Epic) and Book 2 (the Fall of Troy).
Feb 16: Virgil
Feb 16: Virgil
Required Reading:
- The Aeneid, Books 4 and 8
Lecture Outline:
- Virgil's Aeneid: War and History
This lecture presents a discussion of Book 4, the Tragedy of Dido, Book 6, Aeneas' Descent into the Underworld, and Book 8, the Shield of Aeneas.
WEEK 7
WEEK 7
Feb 21 / 23: READING WEEK
Feb 21 / 23: READING WEEK
WEEK 8
WEEK 8
Feb 28: How to Write a Research Essay
Feb 28: How to Write a Research Essay
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
- Elements of an Excellent Academic Essay
An overview of how to write a research essay, applicable to most Humanities assignments at the University level. A description of what makes for a good: Thesis, Argumentation, Logical Organization, Style and Mechanics.
March 2: War and Modernity
March 2: War and Modernity
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
- Machiavelli and the First Wave of Modernity
Presentation slides for a lecture on the "modern revolution" in thinking that occurred ca 1500 CE. A brief overview of the Medieval worldview is presented in order to highlight the order that was overturned by the moderns. Some of the historical factors contributing to the modern revolution are enumerated: linear perspective in painting, the fall of Constantinople, Gutenberg's Bible, the Voyages of Discovery, modern warfare, Luther's 95 Theses, and the Copernican revolution. The notion of "Three Waves of Modernity", as articulated by Leo Strauss, is briefly presented. Finally, the philosophy of Machiavelli is summarized as a way of understanding the modern shift in thinking. For instance, war is no longer judged as the "right" course of action if it is in accordance with a Providential design (the Medieval view); rather, war is judged as the right course of action if it advances the overall "human designs" of the Machiavellian leader.
WEEK 9
WEEK 9
March 7: Shakespeare
March 7: Shakespeare
Required Reading:
- Henry V (1599)
Lecture Outline:
Shakespearean Drama: An Introduction
An introduction to the study of Shakespeare's dramatic works. The lecture discusses the emergence of professional theatres in Elizabethan England, Shakespeare's works and Shakespeare's use of various dramatic genres.
March 9: Shakespeare
March 9: Shakespeare
Required Reading:
- Henry V (1599)
Lecture Outline:
- Shakespeare's Histories: An Introduction
An introduction to Shakespeare's history plays, both the "English Histories" and the "Roman Histories". The predominant concerns of the genre with politics and war are discussed, as is the historical context of the writing of these plays during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604). Finally, Shakespeare's place in the philosophy of history is considered.
WEEK 10
WEEK 10
March 14: Shakespeare
March 14: Shakespeare
Required Reading:
- Henry V (1599)
Lecture Outline:
- Shakespeare's Henry V: War and the Modern Political Regime
An introduction to the play focusing on the play's political teaching with respect to the shift from the medieval to the modern age. Henry V is represented as the ideal ruler for the modern age, combining the classical virtue's required of a warrior king with the Christian virtues needed to consolidate authority.
March 16: Shakespeare
March 16: Shakespeare
Required Reading:
- Henry V (1599)
Lecture Outline:
- Shakespeare's Henry V: War and the Modern Political Regime
WEEK 11
WEEK 11
March 21: Shakespeare
March 21: Shakespeare
Required Reading:
- Henry V (1599)
Lecture Outline:
- Shakespeare's Henry V: War and the Modern Political Regime
March 23: Shakespeare
March 23: Shakespeare
Required Reading:
- Henry V (1599)
Lecture Outline:
- Shakespeare's Henry V: War and the Modern Political Regime
WEEK 12
WEEK 12
March 28: World War I and Modernism
March 28: World War I and Modernism
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
- World War I and Literary Modernism
A short introduction to the poetry of the World War I "Soldier Poets" and how they departed from the patriotic themes of the previous century.
March 30: Modernism: An Introduction
March 30: Modernism: An Introduction
Required Reading:
- Mrs. Dalloway (1925)
Lecture Outline:
- World War I and Literary Modernism
An introduction to the intellectual roots of "Modernism" in such thinkers as Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud. Finally, an introduction to some of the aesthetic movements of literary modernism -- in particular how Modernism's exploration of the "fragmentation" of meaning and experience was connected with Cubism in the visual arts.
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