Introspection in Challenging Times

Challenging times—whether personal, national, or global—commonly give rise to the challenge of introspection. In this course we will examine a variety of writers who, in such times, have expressed their reflections in meditations, confessions, prayers, autobiographies, essays, poetry, journals, and letters. The list includes emperors, bishops, monks, nuns, diplomats, slaves, activists, resistors, martyrs, and other ordinary people. (Some names: Augustine, Teresa, Tubman, Douglass, Weil, Frankel, Gandhi, Day, Morrison, and the Dalai Lama). In addition to analysis, discussion, and work in small groups, we will explore writing in the various genres we examine as a way to develop their own approach to introspection in challenging times.