The Inklings & Their Influence: Mere Christianity for Moderns

Transcription

1 The Inklings & Their Influence: Mere Christianity for Moderns I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. C. S. Lewis, Weight of Glory. Course Description: 1

2 Is Christianity relevant to the modern age the age of technological evolution, the failure of marriage, and global capitalism? This class is an in depth examination of the Inklings, six 20th century winsome and 1 2 intelligent warriors for Christ, and a sampling of the classic books that most influenced them. 3 Following Lewis adage to read an old book for every one or two modern books you read, the reading list consists of interspersed old and new classics, inviting students to compare similar works and draw contrast between conflicting worldviews. Students will see more clearly how the timeless truths of mere Christianity are as, vibrant, powerful, and revolutionary today as when St. Paul uttered the words, Men of Athens... on Mars Hill (Acts 17). The reading and writing assignments for the Inklings is designed to fully engage and delight students and draw them deeper into the classical education project. The complement writing class (Inklings: Structure & Style) gives them the foundation of critical writing. Through Socratic discussion, students will work hard to question and understand love, friendship, sin, hell, Christian belief, humility, conversion, story, apologetics & the culture wars, suffering, faith, hope, and the image of God. More than mere conceptual analysis, students will scratch the surface of these profound realities themselves through these authors fresh, modern, and mature expression of the timeless Christian faith. As a rigorous class, the workload (with the Inklings Writing class) satisfy three high school credits (1 Language Arts, 1 Social Studies, 1 Elective) Veritas Academy recommends this class especially as: (1) Friendly introduction to Classical education, Great Books, and the Socratic method (2) An excellent way to deepen and strengthen Christian worldview 4 5 (3) A rigorous yet delightful exploration of great stories, great films, and great ideas. Learning Objectives Virtue 1 G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Dorothy Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Sheldon Vanauken. 2 For example, the Holy Bible, John Milton, as well as non Christian authors such as Plato, Lao Tze, and H. G. Wells. 3 C. S. Lewis, On the Reading of Old Books, God in the Dock. 4 Including fairy tales, some of which are very good, for adults and children. C. S. Lewis says, When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up. C. S. Lewis, On Stories. 5 Students are invited (with parental permission and/or supervision) to watch three films integrated into the curriculum. 2

3 Our ultimate aim in Inklings & Influence is to become more virtuous, wise, holy persons, by the grace of God. Investment in virtue comes about through engaging in careful, loving, and patient discussion of the relevant texts and applying ourselves with discipline and perseverance to these studies. Investment in wisdom comes about through wrestling with some of the Great Books (history, philosophy, and literature) and coming to understand the Great Ideas therein. Contact with such ideas changes the student in a lasting way. As C. S. Lewis argues in The Abolition of Man, education of the mind is inseparable from education of the heart the seat of sentiments such as love of goodness, hatred of evil, joy at beauty, disgust at ugliness. The Inklings & Influences book list exposes students to beauty (and to ugliness) in order to guide the formation of their sentiments to align with reality. Students will certainly develop skills of reading well, thinking well, and writing well. However, the student s ultimate the responsibility begins outside of class. Each student must invest this knowledge and ability to the service of Christ, by being faithful in church attendance, prayer, forgiveness an ever more full participation in the Christian life. In class, therefore, our fundamental aim is to help equip students for this high calling, but this aim settles into two distinct but related objectives: Skilled critical thinking and character formation. Our fundamental method is Socratic/Discussion about the Inklings authors and several of the books that so influenced them. Reading, Thinking, Writing As Dorothy Sayers in Lost Tools of Learning, students do well who learn, but students who learn how to learn do exponentially better. The development of any particular knowledge or skill is of secondary importance to the development of the critical faculty itself. Hence, this class (in conjunction with the Critical Composition companion class) is designed to challenge each student with rigorous readings, essays, and group discussions. Satisfying and going beyond Kentucky State Standards, students will develop critical thinking skills in reading, writing, and discussing: Reading/Writing Each student will write a concise yet comprehensive summary of the story or argument before class, and will write a short reflective essay in response to each discussion. (Taken in conjunction with The Inklings: Structure & Style) students will complete four Term Papers (two per semester) synthesizing their knowledge and arguing from Inklings texts for a thesis.) Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development 3

4 Make logical inferences from text and cite specific evidence Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. Summarize the key supporting details and ideas. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly Dialoguing/Critical Thinking Classroom discussion works to develop a variety of skills in students, including logical reasoning, comparative analysis, consideration of alternate possible answers, as well as listening to the words of others. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text Analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g. a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively as well as in words. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. II. Learning Methods Socratic/Platonic Discussion: Before class and (especially) in class, students will work hard to identify the key ideas in each story or book, the arguments for those ideas, and the presuppositions and implications of those ideas. Having understood a book fairly, students will join the instructor in searching for the truth in it, and discarding falsehood (if any). Each discussion begins with an Opening Question posed by the instructor, while students bear the bulk of the responsibility for understanding, analyzing, and evaluating the text. Class sessions close with a Summary of the discussion (by student or tutor) and Closing Question from the tutor, which students answer in their notebooks. Classroom discussion must avoid dual pitfalls of mere lecture (from the instructor) and mere sharing of opinions (from the students) Rather, students and instructor must engage in a co learning process that 4

5 takes each book seriously while growing in truth and discarding what is false. This means that each class of students, even each session, is dynamic reality with its own promise and its 6 own risks. Namely, each class must work to find the truth. And Since all truth is God s truth students and instructors will aim to learn even from those books that are ultimately flawed and sub Christian, at the same time as digesting more deeply the truth in books (like Genesis and the Gospel of John) that are inspired by God himself. Great Books: Families new to classical education will appreciate the contemporary readings and the first taste of ancient classics such as Plato. Families already familiar with the classical approach will be delighted and fascinated to see the applications of older classics to the contemporary fiction and nonfiction of the Inklings authors. All will be delighted and instructed by a robust exploration of such big ideas as love, friendship, sin, hell, Christian belief, humility conversion, story, the culture wars, suffering, faith, hope, and the image of God. Given the dual credit Students will read approximately 100 pages a week (about one book every two weeks). Students will grow in reading comprehension, vocabulary, and the skills of summarizing the main ideas of an unfamiliar text. Students must read the assigned text in its entirety before the first day of discussion. The book list represents a small sampling of ancient, medieval, early modern, and contemporary classics (see below for more details). 6 Augustine, On Christian Teaching II.75. A person who is a good and true Christian should realize that truth belongs to his Lord, wherever it is found, gathering and acknowledging it even in pagan literature, but rejecting superstitious vanities and deploring and avoiding those who 'though they knew God did not glorify him as God... 5

6 2013 Reading List (Subject to Changes) 1. Holy Bible: Genesis 2. C.S. Lewis I Mere Christianity. 3. Plato, Euthyphro / Lao Tze, Tao De Ching 4. C.S. Lewis II Abolition of Man / Sayers, Lost Tools of Learning 5. Beowulf 6. J.R. R. Tolkein, The Hobbit 7. H.G. Wells War of the Worlds / 2001: Space Odyssey 8. C.S. Lewis III Out of the Silent Planet 9. Selected Fairy Tales 10. Selected Essays 11. Geoffry Monmouth, Kings of England (selections) 12. Thomas Malory, King Arthur (selections) 13. Milton, Paradise Lost 14. C.S. Lewis IV Perelandra 15. Williams Descent Into Hell / Select Poetry 16. VanAuken, Severe Mercy / Film: Tree of Life 17. C.S. Lewis V That Hideous Strength 18. Holy Bible: Gospel of John 6