At yesterday’s CC102 lecture, Prof. Stephanie Nelson spoke about the two stories in Virgil’s Aeneid – the one being the story of the founding of Rome, and the other a tale of ‘pious Aeneas’, who fled his destroyed home in search of another. For the benefit of those who couldn’t attend the lecture, here are [...]
When he had flown to the sky like a bird, That foremost of men was thrilled and amazed; then, perceiving that emblem of dharma, he set his mind on how he might leave home. -The Life of Buddha by Asvaghosa, translated by Patrick Olivelle
March 2, 2011 at 11:16 am
“Dido, do forlorn, The story then that came to me was true, That you were out of life, had met your end By your own hand. Was I, was I the cause? I swear by heaven’s stars, by the high gods, By any certainty below the earth, I left your land against my will, my [...]
‘Men of Troy, what madness has come over you? can you believe the enemy truly gone? A gift from the Danaans, and no ruse? Is that Ulysses’ way, as you have known him? Achaens must be hiding in this timber, Or it was built to butt against our walls, Peer over them into our houses, [...]
February 16, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Earlier this week, Prof. Emily Hudson—a specialist on Religion and Literature—introduced faculty and students in CC102 to the world of The Bhagavad Gita. For years we have heard about the “dilemma” that Arjuna faces as he stands with his charioteer Krishna between two armies who are preparing to destroy each other. Should he fight in [...]
February 14, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Professor Steve Esposito, a longtime member of the Core Humanities faculty and associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Classics, writes about a recent Core excursion to a new theatrical version of Ajax… This weekend, 85 Core students and 10 members of the Core faculty attended the very successful production of Sophocles’ [...]
February 9, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Day was departing, and the darkening air Called all earth’s creatures to their evening quiet While I alone was preparing as though for war To struggle with my journey and with the spirit Of pity, which flawless memory will redraw: O Muses, O genius of art, O memory whose merit Has inscribed inwardly those things [...]
February 3, 2011 at 2:03 pm
The American Repertory Theater is putting up a production of Sophocles’ Ajax this month, a world-premiere of this particular translation. This evening, Obie Award-winning director Sarah Benson will speak about her experience directing classical Greek plays professionally, and about her work on the upcoming production. This event is part of the Core-sponsored series of lectures [...]
February 3, 2011 at 1:18 pm
In the coming weeks, you’re going to see more posts from Core lecturers and faculty here on the Core blog, as we find ways to share part of the Core classroom experience with you readers. Prof. Eckel invited Prof. Wiebke Denecke — who lectured this past Tuesday on Confucius for the students of CC102 — [...]
February 1, 2011 at 2:12 pm
In his lecture last week for CC102 on Aristotle’s concept of virtue, Prof. David Bronstein made a fascinating point about Aristotle’s understanding of the relationship between virtue and pleasure. Prof. Bronstein explains: Does it feel good to be virtuous? Hear what Aristotle has to say: We may even go so far as to state that [...]
