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From the Platonic dialogues to the short stories of Borges, authors have expressed profound philosophical issues in literary forms that range from the entertaining to the visionary. Gnosticism, an ancient fusion of Platonic thought and revisionist Jewish myth, created a philosophical amalgam that has persistently infiltrated the cultural imaginary of later Western literary and cultural history, as seen most recently in the success of the Matrix films. This course will devote attention to both the mythical and philosophical aspects of Gnostic literature, placing them within the spectrum of related philosophical systems influential in later literary history, such as the Hermetic Corpus, Neoplatonism, and Manichaeism. Texts: Selections from the following: Plato, Timaeus and other dialogues; classic Valentinian and Sethian Gnostic texts; Poimandres and related Hermetic texts; Plotinus, Enneads; Mani, Kephalaia; selected works by Nerval, Eliphas Lvi, Madame Blavatsky, Papus (Grard Encausse), Borges, Lugones. Theoretical and modern texts: Bentley Layton, Gnostic Scriptures; Kurt Rudolph, Gnosis; Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion; Ioan Couliano, The Tree of Gnosis; Yuri Stoyanov, The Other God Required Texts Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion Ioan Couliano, The Tree of Gnosis Yuri Stoyanov, The Other God Plotinus Enneads: Abridged Edition Instructor(s): Christine Thomas Time(s): Wednesdays, 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm Place(s): Old Little Theatre, Room 164B << Back |
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