Self and Text in Roman North Africa: Augustine's Confessions
COL 354Z
Winter 2025
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
HIST 354Z, MDST 354Z |
The native North African Augustine of Hippo wrote the most influential autobiographical text in (so-called) Western literature. It remains the most brilliant text I have ever read: a mind-bendingly complex and yet fully coherent literary self. Let's read it together. Set between Carthage and Rome in 400, Augustine wrote just 10 years before the Eternal City would be sacked by the disaffected former legions of the empire (the Goths). Split between conqueror and conquered, civilization and apocalypse, Augustine wove humanity's existential and epistemological questions into a literary tapestry for the ages: Who am I? How do you speak? Who are you? How do I listen? Who are we? How do we know? At once memoir, critique of empire, philosophy, psychology, theology, personal history, criticism, and a letter, these Confessions require close, careful, focused, attentive readings from a diverse group of interpreters. Join our learning community and spend two snowbound weeks at Wesleyan with a book you will never forget. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA COL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (COL)(CSCT)(MDST-MN) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Augustine, CONFESSIONS, translated by H. Chadwick (Oxford, 1991)
Augustine, CONFESSIONS, a new translation by Sarah Ruden (New York, 2018)
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Examinations and Assignments:
Approximately 20 pages of writing assigned, including drafts.
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course is scheduled to be held In-person. All Winter Session students should expect some readings and assignments to be due during winter break, prior to the beginning of Winter Session class meetings. Syllabi for Winter Session courses will be posted to https://www.wesleyan.edu/wintersession/courses.html as soon as they are available. |
| Instructor(s): Torgerson,Jesse Wayne Times: .MTWRF. 10:00AM-12:00PM; .MTWRF. 02:00PM-04:00PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 17 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 16 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 3 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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