In recent years the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) has emerged as an important guide to the ethical life in dark times. In this five-week seminar we will read through selections from Montaigne’s famous Essays—written in the middle of civil war in Renaissance France. We will study how Montaigne uses the essay as a tool of self-exploration, and how his essayistic thinking relates to his strikingly modern attitudes toward politics, religion, and education. The instructor will present material on Montaigne’s life and times, and will lead a conversation about each week’s reading selections.
Five Saturdays at Clio's, 11am-1pm:
16th, 23rd, 30th (August)
6th, 13th (September)
Instructor: Timothy Hampton, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and French, UC Berkeley
