Inger Kuin / Classics

Philosophical movie-night for Engagements students

In my course "Engaging Ethics: Are You a Stoic?" we study the philosophical school called Stoicism, which dates back to ancient Greece but still has many followers today. In this class we will read the writings of some ‘old’ Stoics (Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca), some ‘new’ ones (Ryan Holiday, Nancy Sherman), and of critics of both. Practicing a form of collaborative philosophical inquiry, we will examine how each of us would answer the core question that Stoicism revolves around: how to live a good life? One of the objectives of the course it to explore ethical questions by engaging with ideas in a variety of media, including texts, podcasts, and film. To that end, I will organize a movie screening for both of my Engagements sections together (70-75 students total) at the Violet Crown Theater in downtown Charlottesville. We will walk to the cinema together from Grounds. Students will get an opportunity to interact with me and with each other in a different setting, also across the two sections, and they will get to experience one of the highlights of downtown Charlottesville, how fun it is, and how remarkably close! We will discuss the movie in the next class meeting, for which students will prepare by writing an individual reflection on it. In order to increase student buy-in, the movie will be chosen via a student vote from four options: Seneca: On the Creation of Earthquakes, Waking Life, Thank You for Smoking, and The Seventh Seal.

Projected cost: $950.