'You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.'
'Make me chaste, but not yet!'
These two declarations from the Confessions are among the most cited from all of literature, let alone from the works of Augustine. In them are encapsulated the complexities and seeming contradictions of his heart as he navigates his way through his early life. The Confessions is considered a core text of the Western literary and theological canons. The author's North African context and wide-ranging interests, however, situate it in much broader traditions.
The class will combine historical, literary, religious, philosophical and psychological approaches. The rich intertextuality of biblical references in nearly every sentence will be highlighted. A main topic will be the nature of religious and philosophical conversions as students discuss the various changes in worldview expressed in the work. Most weeks will focus on just two books (chapters) of the Confessions to allow us to immerse ourselves in the poetic language and thought world of Augustine.