C. S. LEWIS / COURSE 1
Intellect and Imagination
Rediscover the life and writings of C. S. Lewis: his influences and his influence. What makes his writing so effective, both intellectually and imaginatively?
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THE APPROACH
A question worth pursuing.
Though all of Dr. Lepojärvi’s courses are stand-alone ones, this introductory course sets the overall tone. It is recommended to take this course before the other C. S. Lewis courses.
As a student, you can take the course as a major or as a minor. If you take it as a minor, you will write on the first four topics. If you take it as a major, you will write on the first four topics, and then choose four of the last six topics.
Jason will provide a course pack containing a detailed syllabus with primary and secondary sources and an essay prompt for each tutorial, along with detailed instructions and practical tips on essay writing and preparing for and participating in tutorials. From there, develop your own ideas through reading, a written paper, and a conversation with your tutor.
YOUR PAPERS
What you’ll explore.
The first four topics form the minor. For the major, add four topics from the remaining six.
- 1Overview of Lewis’s life and conversionCORE
- 2Lewis’s understanding of mythCORE
- 3 The Narnia Chronicles (Part One): allegory, myth, or hodgepodge?CORE
- 4 The Narnia Chronicles (Part Two): a revolutionary proposalCORE
- 5Lewis on ethicsMAJOR
- 6Lewis on loveMAJOR
- 7Lewis’s depictions and descriptions of salvationMAJOR
- 8Lewis on sufferingMAJOR
- 9Lewis on heaven and hellMAJOR
- 10Lewis on the power of languageMAJOR
ON THE READING TABLE
Texts to think with.
Some of the primary sources you will explore include: C. S. Lewis’s books Surprised by Joy, The Abolition of Man, Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and That Hideous Strength; C. S. Lewis’s essays, poems, and sermons ‘The Weight of Glory’, ‘Myth Became Fact’, and ‘On Stories’.
Some of the secondary sources you will explore include: The Intellectual Life of C. S. Lewis by Alister McGrath; Planet Narnia by Michael Ward; The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis by Robert MacSwain & Michael Ward (ed.); and C. S. Lewis’s Dangerous Idea by Victor Reppert.
MAKE IT YOUR OWN
Choose your depth.
Four tutorials
Four papers, four conversations.
US$800Eight tutorials
More time to develop your thinking.
US$1,500Weekly, fortnightly, or monthly meetings can be discussed.
More about the tutorial format ↗YOUR NEXT CHAPTER