Up Next Week: Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments

We shared some very interesting reflections on Burton last night, and now it's time to turn to the long-awaited Adam Smith & his Theory of Moral Sentiments! There have been consistent votes for Smith since we started the blog, so we anticipate that this will be a vibrant discussion.

Below are two links to Smith. One is HTML and the other is a $0.99 Kindle edition from Amazon. I regret that Project Gutenberg does not have a pdf copy. Please read as much of the selection as you are able, and come ready to share any & all of your questions/insights/observations/theories.

Theory of Moral Sentiments -- Kindle

Theory of Moral Sentiments -- HTML

Below are some supplementary readings; you'll note that Siskin & Warner have made a return, as we did not have a chance to discuss their texts yesterday. I also ran across Rae Greiner's article on "Theory," so I thought why not? You can access it through Project Muse on the library's website, or email me (Katherine Blake -- katblake@indiana.edu) for a pdf copy. 

Peripheral texts
Clifford Siskin and William Warner, "This is Enlightenment: An Invitation in the Form of an Argument" (Introductory chapter to This is Enlightenment, Chicago: U Chicago P, 2009) 
Rae Greiner, "The Art of Knowing Your Own Nothingness." ELH 77.4 (Winter 2010)

As always, we will be meeting Wednesday, March 6th at The Pour-House on Kirkwood, from 4:30-5:30. We look forward to seeing you there!

Up Next Week: Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy

Hello All:

A great discussion on Locke and Rousseau made that hour fly by today! Thank you to all who attended. One hour was clearly not enough to map out the complexities of these two theorists, but I think we aired some really great questions that could turn into great papers and studies.

According to the votes to the right of this blog, Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) is up next. Though it is most obviously a seventeenth-century text, Burton's work becomes central to a variety of eighteenth-century literature on the mind, health and medicine, depression, the humors, genius and melancholia, etc.

We will be reading Burton, then, in small doses (it's a huge work). Group members today agreed upon reading sections from the "First Partition" (which lays out a theory and "symptoms" of melancholy) and the "Third Partition" (which discusses love, desire, and melancholy). Those interested in medicine and disease may want to check out the "Second Partition" instead of the third. Again, because these pieces are so long, please read as far as you are able and nothing more. Also, if you aren't interested in reading Burton but want to discuss the "peripheral" text, please attend the group meeting to do so--this is a very flexible and informal group, so don't feel too pressured! Below is a breakdown of the sections we'll try to cover and a link to Project Gutenberg that contains several different ebook forms of the text. I tried out the Kindle edition and it worked perfectly--the "contents" tab conveniently lets you jump straight to the different partitions!


Major Text for Discussion

Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy

Contents to be covered:

First Partition - Sections 1, 2, 3
Third Partition - Sections 1, 2, 3 

Peripheral Text for Discussion

Clifford Siskin and William Warner, "This is Enlightenment: An Invitation in the Form of an Argument" (Introductory chapter to This is Enlightenment, Chicago: U Chicago P, 2009)


We will meet at the same time and place, Wednesday, Feb 27th from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the Pour House on Kirkwood.

IU Theatre: Sheridan's School for Scandal

Hello All:


The Department of Theatre at IU is performing Sheridan's School for Scandal this Friday, Feb 22nd, through March 2nd.

Thursday, Linda Pisano is giving a talk associated with the show that concerns eighteenth-century costume design. It is titled, "From Bosom to Ankle: The Clothing of Scandals in 18th-Century London." It will be held Thurs, Feb 21st, @ 5:30 pm in the Studio Theatre, 2nd Floor, 7th and Jordan.


If anyone in the reading group would like to attend the play this Friday, a couple of us from workshop will also be grabbing dinner and going to the show. Email or message me for details! Also, several members of the reading group are attending on Tuesday of next week with an eighteenth-century class--contact Tracey if you want details!



Here is the link for show and ticket information: http://www.indiana.edu/~thtr/productions/2012/scandal.shtml


Looking forward to tomorrow's meeting on Rousseau and Locke!

Up Next Week: Politics of Contract--Locke & Rousseau

Hello All:

Well, our discussion of Diderot was excellent--thank you to all who came and contributed to a great, dynamic interdisciplinary discussion!

For next week (based upon requests & your votes on the poll to the right of this blog), we're going to discuss selections from Locke and Rousseau--two major hitters for social contract theory. I have posted links to the following works (just click on the titles)--if you'd prefer a .pdf from a non-online edition, please contact me (Rachel) through the blog site or via e-mail and I can send some your way. However I've checked these against my scholarly editions, and they check out! We'll be reading two major/central texts for discussion--I've included others for those who want to take on a heavier load!


Two Central Texts for Discussion:

Locke, Second Treatise of Government
Rousseau, The Social Contract

Peripheral Texts for Discussion:

Locke, First Treatise of Government
Rousseau, A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
Rousseau, Reveries of the Solitary Walker


We will be meeting same time/place: Wednesday, February 20th @ the Pour House (on Kirkwood Ave) from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Please invite people from across time periods, specialties, and departments: the more interdisciplinary the group, the more dynamic the conversation!

Diderot Tomorrow!

We'll be discussing Diderot's Jacques the Fatalist tomorrow at the Pour House on Kirkwood from 4:30 - 5:30. We hope you can join!