WWC snapshot of http://cc.usu.edu/~slq9v/cslewis/ws-outline.html taken on Sat Jun 10 21:03:13 1995
8 May 1995
To: Enrollees in the Understanding C. S. Lewis Workshop, June 8-10, 1995
Re: Welcome/Overview
This e-mail message is being sent to all who have enrolled or who are
considering enrolling in the UNDERSTANDING C. S. LEWIS WORKSHOP and is
also being sent via U.S. MAIL. Some may receive it who have not as yet
registered. The Workshop is almost full and registration should be
completed by Wednesday, May 10th to insure enrollment.
Thank you for joining our summer workshop on C. S. Lewis. Welcome to what
should be an enjoyable three days together. In this message you should
find a tentative syllabus and a survey I'd like you to complete and return
to me prior to the workshop if at all possible in the postpaid envelope.
The syllabus outlines the projected readings, discussions, and activities
I have planned for the three days. I call it *tentative,* however, because
I wish to be open to the needs and preferences of the enrollees. Your
response to my survey will help shape the final format of the workshop. We
will have a diverse gathering, one which includes school teachers,
pastors, undergraduate and graduate students, and just plain old Lewis
admirers and emulators, who want to join others in a rousing exploration
of new and old, fresh and familiar.
Between now and the time of the workshop, please feel free to contact me
for clarification and/or assistance in preparing for the workshop
activities. On the syllabus you will see that I am making some
pre-workshop reading assignments, based upon the required texts (listed on
the syllabus sheet) and the extent to which you can do this reading (or
re-reading) will affect the participation level you can achieve during our
three days together. (Those who have enrolled for credit will also have an
extra *final assignment* sheet enclosed.) Strictly speaking, you don't
have to do the reading in advance, but you will derive benefit from the
workshop in direct proportion to the amount of investment you put into it
before you arrive. (Last yearUs workshoppers exhorted me to underscore
that last point!)
I look forward to seeing you around 9:00 A.M. on June 8th. Information
about the meeting place, parking, etc., will be mailed to you soon by Judy
Donald of BGSU's Continuing Education office.
Sincerely,
Dr. Bruce L. Edwards
Director of Graduate Studies and
Professor of English
office: 419-372-6864
home: 419-352-2869
fax: 419-372-0333
e-mail: edwards@bgnet.bgsu.edu
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Syllabus for the Understanding C. S. Lewis Workshop
Required texts:
Dorsett, Lyle, Ed. _The Essential C. S. Lewis_ (Collier/Macmillan, 1988)
Dorsett's anthology contains a good, handy sampling of Lewis's wide range
of writings and will be the main textbook for our three days. Selections
are identified below.
Duriez, Colin. _The C. S. Lewis Handbook_ (Baker Book House, 1990). Duriez
has concocted an ingenious *dictionary* of Lewis's life, times, key terms
and publications, and characters from his fictional works. This is a
useful resource both for the initiated and the person wanting to learn
more.
(These two books are available from the University Bookstore, BGSU campus,
and several area BG bookstores. They are also widely available in other
*mall-sized* commercial bookstores as well as many Christian book stores.
Page numbers in the syllabus below refer to the Dorsett text. NOTE: At the
end of this syllabus you will find alternative sources for these Lewis
readimgs for those who may own these texts already and do not wish to
purchase the Dorsett anthology.)
Thursday, June 8, 1995
9:00-9:30 Welcome and Overview of the Workshop
9:30-10:30 Session 1:
*Meditating in Toolsheds*: How to *Think* Like Lewis
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:30 Session 2: Lewis's Life and Times: Ireland, England, and
Beyond Video: Through Joy and Beyond
12:30-1:30 Lunch (On your own)
1:30-3:15 Session 3: Jack and Joy Through the Shadowlands
Video: Shadowlands (BBC Wm. Nicholson version)
3:15-3:30 Break
3:30-5:30 Session 4: Lewis and/on the Internet: Writing and
Reacting to Lewis & His Friends
(A field trip to the University Computing Workroom)
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Suggested readings for Thursday Sessions:
"The Essential C. S. Lewis"
*Introduction* (3-17); *Surprised by Joy* (23-51).
"The C. S. Lewis Handbook"
Entries on: C. S. Lewis; Helen Joy Davidman; The Inklings; A Grief
Observed; George MacDonald; Surprised by Joy; Owen Barfield; G. K.
Chesterton; W. H. Lewis (Warnie). A handout will be provided for an
in-session reading and discussion teaturing Lewis's essay, *Meditation in
a Toolshed.*
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Friday, June 9, 1995
9:00-10:45 Session 5: Lewis and the Inklings: Who Knew What
When: Tolkien and Williams & Co.
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-12:30 Session 6: Lewis and Science Fiction: The Battle for
Popular/Christian Literature and Responsible Criticism
12:30-1:30 Lunch (On your own)
1:30-3:15 Session 7: Lewis in Never-Never Land: The Narnian
Chronicles and Till We Have Faces
3:15-3:30 Break
3:30-5:30 Session 8: Lewis as Apologist: Supernaturalism Reborn
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Suggested readings for Friday Sessions:
"The Essential C. S. Lewis"
Mere Christianity (30925); *The Few and the Many,* (513-15); *Modern
Theology and Literary Criticism,* (34960); Screwtape Letters (297304);
*The Weight of Glory* (361-70); Sample: The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe (11639); Perelandra (17280).
"The C. S. Lewis Handbook"
See entries on: Literary Critic (C S. Lewis as); Charles Williams; J. R.
R. Tolkien; Myth; Transposition; Joy; The Discarded Image; Studies in
Words; They Asked for a Paper; ; An Experiment in Criticism; Till We Have
Faces; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Narnia (Chronicles of;
Geography; History); Perelandra; Out of the Silent Planet; That Hideous
Strength; Mere Christianity; Nature; Miracles; Joy; Theology (C S Lewis
and); Screwtape Letters; The Four Loves; The Problem of Pain; The
Pilgrim's Regress; The Great Divorce
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Saturday, June 10, 1995
9:00-11:00 Session 9: Lewis as Cultural Critic : *De Descriptione
Temporum* and The Abolition of Man
11:00-11:15 Break
11:15-1:00 Session 10: The Lewisian Legacy: Reading, Writing,
Teaching Lewis
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Suggested readings for Saturday Sessions:
"The Essential C. S. Lewis"
The Abolition of Man (42866); *De Descriptione Temporum (47181); *New
Learning and New Ignorance* (48485); Selections from Letters (52132); *On
Stories* (55012).
"The C. S. Lewis Handbook"
*De Descriptione Temporum*; The Abolition of Man; chronological snobbery;
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Alternative sources for readings assigned from _The Essential C. S. Lewis_:
Surprised by Joy (Harcourt, 1955; 3-21; 132-48; 197-229); The Abolition
of Man (Macmillan, 1947); *De Descriptione Temporum* (Selected Literary
Essays., Cambridge UP, 19691-14;); *New Learning and New Ignorance*
(English Literature in the 16th Century, Oxford UP, 1944; 165);
Selections from Letters (Letters of C S. Lewis, Harcourt,1966; 291-92;
Letters to an American Lady, Eerdmans,1967, 11; 36-37; 4647; 50-51; 7071;
74 75); *On Stories* (Of Other Worlds, Harcourt, 1966, 3-21); The Lion.
the Witch. and the Wardrobe (Collier, 1950, 130-86); Perelandra
(Macmillan, 1944; 45-58); Mere Christianity (Macmillan, 1952, 3642; 46-50;
7883; 15456); *Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism* (Christian
Reflections, Eerdmans, 1967, 15266); Screwtape Letters (Macmillan, 1961,
36-44; 62-66; 130-34; *The Weight of Glory* (The Weight ol Glory,
Macmillan, 1980, 319); *The Few and the Many* (An Experiment in Criticism
; Cambridge UP, 1-2; 140-141); handout: *Meditation in a Toolshed,* God in
the Dock (Eerdmans, 1970; 212-15).
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Lewis Survey
Please complete this brief survey and return to me via e-mail
(edwards@bgnet.bgsu.edu) no later than June 1st. Thank you!
NAME:________________________________ Enrolled for:
Address:_______________________________ __Noncredit __Credit
City:____________________State:______Zip :_______ ___ UG __Graduate
Phone:___________________ fax:_________________
e-mail______________________
1. What attracted you to this workshop? How did you find out about it?
2. How would you describe your familiarity with C. S. Lewis's works?
(Check one)
___ very familiar ____ familiar ___ somewhat familiar ___ not familiar
3. How would you describe your main interests in Lewis's writings (Check
all that apply):
___ science-fiction; ___ Christian apologetics; ___literary criticism;
____cultural critique ___ poetry; ____ Narnian Chronicles; ____other
fiction (Till We Have Faces, etc.)
4. Of the topics announced for the workshop, which of the following are
you most interested in? (Rank your top five, 1-5:)
__ How to best read Lewis to understand his multifaceted career
__ Lewis's writing techniques and how they serve the interests of writers
and teachers
__ Lewis's childhood, adolescence, and impact of events on his conversion
and career
___ The relationship between Lewis's apologetics and fiction
___ How to teach Lewis in school, college, or church settings
___ What the devotional reader of Lewis should know of his scholarly works
___ Who to read and not read in the secondary sources about Lewis
___ What writers and books influenced Lewis
___ Lewis's relationships with the Inklings (Tolkien, Williams, et al.)
___ The real story of SHADOWLANDS and his marriage to Joy Davidman
___ The controversy surrounding the Lewis estate and the canon of Lewisian
works
___ How to write and publish on Lewis
5. Are there special circumstances (health, family, scheduling conflicts)
that the instructor needs to know about?
6. Do you anticipate any problem familiarizing yourself with or obtaining
copies of the required texts for the workshop in advance of the June 8th
beginning?
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Assignments for Workshop Participants Taking English 470/586 for Credit
Undergraduates
Within two weeks of the workshop's end, undergraduate students taking this
workshop for credit should submit one of the following two texts:
(1) A 2-3 pp. typed summary/journal entry (600-750 w.) of informed
reactions to several readings from Lewis that explains both why you
selected your chosen portions of Lewis's work and what their significance
is to you.
or
(2) A 2-3 pp. essay (600-750 w.) that does one of the following*:
% Presents a lesson plan for teaching a particular Lewis work
% Attempts a new Screwtape Letter
% Creates a new entry for Duriez's Handbook
% Argues the rightful place of Lewis in literary or theological
history
Graduates
Within two weeks of the workshop's end, graduate students taking this
workshop for credit should submit the following text or similar*:
A 3-5 pp. typed essay (750-1200 w.) that explores, critiques, extends, or
otherwise engages a concept, position, or stance posited by Lewis in his
fiction, theological works, or literary criticism.*
Completed assignments may be mailed to:
Dr. Bruce L. Edwards
Department of English
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
or e-mailed: edwards@bgnet.bgsu.edu
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Dr. Bruce L. Edwards edwards@bgnet.bgsu.edu |
Professor of English fax: 419-372-0333 |
Bowling Green State University office: 419-372-6864 |
Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 |
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