In “Pop,” Edmundson argues that “pop culture generally cannot offer” the same level of meaning as works which are canonical
In “Pop,” Edmundson argues that “pop culture generally cannot offer” the same level of meaning as works which are canonical
1.In “Final Narratives,” Edmundson addresses the “central convictions” of students. He encourages students and teachers alike to “uncover central convictions about politics, love, money, and the good life. It’s there that, as Socrates knew, real thinking starts” (Edmundson 35).
In your view, how might one “uncover” these “central convictions” during his or her time at university? Is this a valuable pursuit? Would you add anything to Edmundson’s list (which comes from Plato and Socrates) of “politics, love, money, and the good life” as a way to get to “real thinking” about one’s life and the world?
Please write at least 100 words.
2.In “Circles,” Edmundson uses a metaphor to describe the process of a “real education“: a circle. He notes the paradox inherent in this vision of education: the circle is understood as an image of both expansion and growth (individual and collective), but also one of “confinement.”
I’m interested in your thoughts on Edmundson’s vision of how we develop: does Edmundson have it right? Is a university education the process of “expanding” our circles of self? If so, how does this process occur? Do all new innovations, or what was once “key to life,” eventually become stale and flat, “a tired and tiresome final narrative”?
Please write at least 100 words.
3.In “Pop,” Edmundson argues that “pop culture generally cannot offer” the same level of meaning as works which are canonical. Here he is making a distinction between two types of reading: that which is “entertainment,” and that which is “more nurturing.”
How would you characterize, define, or classify “pop culture”? Do you see a difference between popular entertainment and a work (a book, a film, a song) which provides both “pleasure and instruction”?
Please write at least 100 words.
4.In the final essay of Why Read? Edmundson argues that “democracy and the democratic humanism it can unfold” are his “religion.” That is, Edmundson has taken a secular notion–that of American democracy–and applied the full force of religious or spiritual faith to it.
How would you respond to Edmundson’s suggestion here that humans are, at their core (as Edmundson admits he is), creatures of belief and faith, not creatures of reason? That is, does what we believe in our hearts ultimately matter more than what we can prove empirically, and does faith play a greater role than reason in governing our actions, even in a secular culture?
Please write at least 100 words.
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