Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy

[Robert_Pauley AT OXY.com]

Having attended Coles' class on Percy (in truth, it was called "Moral
Inquiry in Literature") and watched my brother teach Percy also at Harvard I
offer the idea of teaching one novel along with Percy's interviews on same
novel and some related essays. I suggest The Second Coming -- in my view his
most emotionally accessible novel (arguably an old-fashioned love story,
with the usual Percy underpinnings of paradox) and about a lawyer to boot.
As for the essays or other writings, Lost in the Cosmos is a class pleaser.
There are some hilarious pieces in there, many of which can be tied into
themes of the novels, i.e., SC. Best of luck. 

R. Pauley
-----Original Message-----
From: tbassett AT acsu.buffalo.edu [mailto:tbassett AT acsu.buffalo.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 5:01 PM
To: Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion
Cc: tbassett AT acsu.buffalo.edu
Subject: [percy-l] Teaching Percy . . . to law students


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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