Brilliant Minds

Selections from Hildegard

We will concentrate our discussions on the following sections:

1. Letter to Bernard of Clairvaux

5. The Trinity

13. The First Version of the Play of the Virtues

20. The Cosmic Egg

21. The Cosmos

23. Songs from Symphonia

25. The Iron Mountain

27. The Seven Vices and Virtues

31. A Vision of Love

A recording of songs from Symphonia:

Aristotle Selections

Happy New Year!

For those who wish to get a head start on reading Aristotle, we will focus on the Ethics, Politics, Rhetoric, and Poetics. Below are my suggested selections from those sections, referenced by Book and Chapter numbers which should work with any edition:

(Nichomachean) Ethics
i, 1-10, 13
ii, 1-7
iii, 1-7
v, 1-2, 7, 10
vi, 1-3, 5-8, 12-13
vii, 1-3
viii, 1-3, 9
ix, 4, 7-9, 12
x, 4-9

Politics
i, 1-6
ii, 1, 2, 3-5
iii, 1, 4, 6-12
iv, 1, 3, 11
v, 1, 8, 9
vii, 1-3, 8-9, 13, 15

Rhetoric
i, 1-2, 5-6, 13
ii, 1, 4, 22

Poetics
4, 6-11, 13-15

I also recommend Aristotle in Outline by Timothy A. Robinson (Hackett 1995) for a concise, yet thorough overview of Aristotle's work.

Don Quixote Selections

For those of you planning your reading ahead, here are must read selections for Don Quixote:

Part I Prologue Chapters I – X XVIII XXI – XXII XXV XXXII – XXXVII XLVI – LII

Part II Prologue Chapters VIII – XV XVII XXII – XXIV XXIX – XXXV LIII, LV, LXIV LXVII – LXXIV

Muriel Rukeyser selections

Reading these selections of Muriel Rukeyser's poems, affords us a double opportunity. We can look at each poem individually as Rukeyser's assertion on or expression of a particular moment, experience, issue, or circumstance. We can also read selected poems in relation to each other and trace threads of Rukeyser's "preoccupations." One way to approach this particular volume is to read her poems which allude to or adapt historical/mythological figures. These poems constitute distinct, complete entities. But they also stand in relation to each other through the common context of myth. Try these:

"Judith"
"The Minotaur"
"The Poem as Mask: Orpheus"
"Myth"
"Ms. Lot"
"Waiting for Icarus"

Then complement your reading with a reading from an extended cycle of poems, such as those selected from: Letter to the Front.

Then, if you are interested, here is a link to the FBI's file on Muriel Rukeyser.

Reading Anna Karenina

The structure of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina has two focal points: Anna's story and Levin's story. According to Sydney Schultze, in The Structure of Anna Karenina (Ardis 1982), for the most part, these stories alternate by groupings of chapters which can be referred to as "segments." These segments are in turn grouped into the "Parts" which form the overall structure of the novel.  Schultze shows that of the total 239 chapters, 113 chapters grouped into 17 segments belong to Anna, and 126 chapters grouped into 18 segments belong to Levin. If you want to follow each story, based on your interest, here is Schultze's schematic:

Part I: Anna 1-4, Levin 5-15, A 16-23, L 24-27, A 28-34
Part II: L 1-3, A 4-11, L 12-17, A 18-29, L 30-35
Part III: L 1-12, A 13-23, L 24-32
Part IV: A 1-6, L 7, A 8, L 9, A 10, L 11, A 12, L 13-16, A 17-23
Part V: L 1-6, A 7-13, L 14-20, A 21-23
Part VI: L 1-16, A 17-25, L 26-30, A 31-32
Part VII: L 1-11, A 12, L 13-16, A 17-31
Part VIII: L 1-19

We'll discuss Anna over two classes, Parts I-IV, then Parts V-VIII. I suggest, that you emphasize these selections:

Part I: A 1-4, L 5-15, A 16-23
Part II: A 4-11
Part III: A 13-23
Part IV: A 12, L 13-16, A 17-23
Part V: L 14-20
Part VI: A 17-25
Part VII: L 13-16, A 17-31
Part VIII: L 1-19

Book list for Summer 2009

In case you're wondering, NYU has published last year's list on their website for Literature for the 21st Century, Summer 2009. The correct is as follows:

1. The Bruise by Magdalena Zurawski
2. La Medusa by Vanessa Place
3. The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
4. The Great Weaver from Kashmir by Halldor Laxness
5. Away by Amy Bloom
6. Jane Eyre adapted by Polly Teale
7. Selected Poems of Carol Ann Duffy

(Links to editions to follow, please check back)

Readings for Quintus of Smyrna

If you're reading ahead and would like selections from Quintus of Smyrna on The Trojan Epic, concentrate your reading on the following books for our class discussion:

Book 3: The Death of Achilles
Book 5: The Contest for the Armor of Achilles
Book 7: The Arrival of Neoptolemos
Book  9: The Arrival of Philoktetes
Book 10: The Death of Paris
Book 12: The Wooden Horse
Book 13: The Sack of Troy

Here you will find a review of the text we are using in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review.

For a link and key to the map at right: Map of Troy with Legend.

Printable Spring 2009 Reading List

Click below to download a printable PDF version of our Spring 2009 reading list with recommended editions:

>> Download List

Spring 2009 editions

The editions for our Spring 2009 reading list are now posted with links on the left sidebar. A printable list is coming soon!

Anna's Alexiad

For those of you who have expressed an interest in getting a head start on reading Anna Comnena's Alexiad, you can concentrate your reading on Books 1, 3, 6, 10, 11, 14, and 15.