Fraught with Thought
5/5/2006
Reading is nothing short of a conversation with possibilities in search of a wider/deeper sense of truth. Here at Dominican, we pursue truth. Sometimes also we acknowledge that it’s been pursuing us all along and that perhaps we have only to render ourselves teachable, as John Calvin used to say. Hence as one methodology in that regard, whether you see yourself these days as pursuer or pursued, and maybe as a nod to all of our ongoing aspirations for teachableness, I give you the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences Recommended Readings from Faculty Across the Disciplines, May 2006.
Here’s the preface I included.
Dear Readers,
My faculty colleagues across the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences have put together this list of recommended texts, organized by academic discipline. We’re not claiming that these, much less only these texts are absolutely essential for the various disciplines in the College. We’re not creating the ultimate eternal canon! Indeed, many of these texts have sparked great intellectual controversy and continue to do so. Such textual provocations may have much to teach us. We’re simply offering, as educators, our considered suggestions for some of the texts we think students, prospective students and lifelong learners would do well to consider. We hope you’ll engage many of them as conversation partners throughout your educational journey, and we hope you’ll add to the list with your own insights and discoveries.
Happy reading!
Now I’ve just today received a song from Wicked from one of our students, which includes the following lyrics:
Life's more painless
For the brainless
Why think too hard?
I’m not sure if the intent was to spike my blood pressure, given my sworn duty as defender of the examined life. I was all ready for a true rant when I listened a little further and heard this:
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It's just life
So keep dancing through
Hmm, I thought. Maybe they’re onto something…. Maybe it’s a kind of mindful mindlessness, a kind of skillful means for experiencing non-attachment to and perhaps transcendence of concepts that both our Buddhist meditator friends and our Christian contemplatives and even negative theologians might appreciate.
Still we won’t see
Life is fraught-less
When you're thoughtless
as our branding tagline here at Dominican University™ any time soon (I hope).
I must say along these lines of reading etc. that I’ve become mildly addicted to certain podcasts of late (especially nice while commuting), particularly the ones I find via the iTunes music store in the public broadcasting section—especially NPR, BBC and PRI programs. My two favorites are BBC’s “In Our Time,” featuring discussions on liberal arts and sciences topics across the history of ideas ranging from human evolution to Geoffrey Chaucer to relativism to asteroids to the afterlife; and NPR’s “Books” podcast—a weekly compilation of reviews and interviews with authors of new books drawn from Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other programs. I also really love “This I Believe” (OK that’s three).
Life is fraught when you have thought—but it’s worth it. Even and especially amid the dancing.
Reading is nothing short of a conversation with possibilities in search of a wider/deeper sense of truth. Here at Dominican, we pursue truth. Sometimes also we acknowledge that it’s been pursuing us all along and that perhaps we have only to render ourselves teachable, as John Calvin used to say. Hence as one methodology in that regard, whether you see yourself these days as pursuer or pursued, and maybe as a nod to all of our ongoing aspirations for teachableness, I give you the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences Recommended Readings from Faculty Across the Disciplines, May 2006.
Here’s the preface I included.
Dear Readers,
My faculty colleagues across the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences have put together this list of recommended texts, organized by academic discipline. We’re not claiming that these, much less only these texts are absolutely essential for the various disciplines in the College. We’re not creating the ultimate eternal canon! Indeed, many of these texts have sparked great intellectual controversy and continue to do so. Such textual provocations may have much to teach us. We’re simply offering, as educators, our considered suggestions for some of the texts we think students, prospective students and lifelong learners would do well to consider. We hope you’ll engage many of them as conversation partners throughout your educational journey, and we hope you’ll add to the list with your own insights and discoveries.
Happy reading!
Now I’ve just today received a song from Wicked from one of our students, which includes the following lyrics:
Life's more painless
For the brainless
Why think too hard?
I’m not sure if the intent was to spike my blood pressure, given my sworn duty as defender of the examined life. I was all ready for a true rant when I listened a little further and heard this:
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It's just life
So keep dancing through
Hmm, I thought. Maybe they’re onto something…. Maybe it’s a kind of mindful mindlessness, a kind of skillful means for experiencing non-attachment to and perhaps transcendence of concepts that both our Buddhist meditator friends and our Christian contemplatives and even negative theologians might appreciate.
Still we won’t see
Life is fraught-less
When you're thoughtless
as our branding tagline here at Dominican University™ any time soon (I hope).
I must say along these lines of reading etc. that I’ve become mildly addicted to certain podcasts of late (especially nice while commuting), particularly the ones I find via the iTunes music store in the public broadcasting section—especially NPR, BBC and PRI programs. My two favorites are BBC’s “In Our Time,” featuring discussions on liberal arts and sciences topics across the history of ideas ranging from human evolution to Geoffrey Chaucer to relativism to asteroids to the afterlife; and NPR’s “Books” podcast—a weekly compilation of reviews and interviews with authors of new books drawn from Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other programs. I also really love “This I Believe” (OK that’s three).
Life is fraught when you have thought—but it’s worth it. Even and especially amid the dancing.
