Teaching Percy . . . to law students
tbassett at acsu.buffalo.edu
tbassett at acsu.buffalo.edu
Tue Oct 16 20:01:08 EDT 2001
Hello all -
I'm writing to solicit advice, warnings, direction, etc. regarding my
decision to teach a course on Percy's novels and essays to law students
next semester. Any feedback will be cheerfully (and not a little
desperately <g>) accepted.
I'm not sure why I decided to take this seminar on, in place of my usual
one on the death penalty. Partly because I haven't had a chance to read
Percy carefully in the last few years. I don't know how representative a
Percy reader I am (atheist, socially and politically way over on the left,
secular through and through . . . all in all a constellation of traits and
opinions and practices that Percy skewered well and truly more than once),
but I do know that dipping into his work every few years renews a long and
respectful conversation/quarrel/? I've had going with the man for a long
time. I think my decision also partly traces to this deepening sense --
which is difficult to articulate, though nonetheless very real -- that law
students might benefit just as much as anyone from reading him. The longer
I teach law, the more I think I see my students -- usually bright,
talented, hard-working, privileged -- feeling bad when they should be
feeling good. And, of course, Percy has one or two things to say about that.
I don't know much about how I might teach the class. Something like ten
students . . . maybe three of the novels (Moviegoer, Love In the Ruins,
Thanatos????) . . . some of the essays (beyond starting the semester with
Notes for a Novel About the End of the World, I don't have a clue) . . .
I've been too busy with this semester to think beyond gross generalities).
Which is why virtually anything any of you have to say will be helpful.
Thanks in advance. I look forward to listening in on the list in the
future, too.
Regards,
Thom Bassett
SUNY-Buffalo Law School
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