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Life Worth Living is an initiative of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School.
CWU AIQS100
Essaying a Life Worth Living
Stephanie Redekop is a Lecturer in the Writing Program at Case Western Reserve University.
What does it mean to live well? We will grapple with this question, guided by the experimental practice of essay-writing, a centuries-old method for developing knowledge in the absence of certainty.
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Course Description:
What does it mean to live well? Each week, students in this seminar will grapple with this question. Our efforts will be guided by the experimental practice of essay-writing, a centuries-old method for developing knowledge in the absence of certainty. Throughout the term, we will think with a wide range of contemporary American essayists—including journalists, scientists, and YouTubers—who attempt to address urgent questions like: What does a good life feel like?, Who do we answer to?, What should we hope for?, and What should we do when we fail? We will contextualize their essays with short readings from wide-ranging philosophical and religious traditions, identifying the ways in which these traditions provide us with “equipment for living,” and then examining how essayists “test” these frameworks against the specific circumstances of their lives.
Sample of Course Materials:
Alpert, Avram. The Good-Enough Life.
Callahan, Gerald N. "Chimera."
Garber, Megan. "We're Already Living in the Metaverse."
Tolentino, Jia. "Always Be Optimizing."
Wise, Spencer. "The Second-Worst Rug My Father’s Ever Seen."
Key Assignments:
Immersion Essay:
Your first essay requires you to consider how we ascribe meaning to the scenes and details that we encounter in our daily lives. You will choose a community that you’re a part of and spend some time there observing, reflecting, and analyzing. ng. You will then produce an essay that demonstrates how the things that you observe within that community—such as the use of physical space, patterns of speech and behavior, and the organization of time—reveal that community’s vision of a life worth living.
“Joining the Conversation” Essay
Developing a vision of the life worth living requires us to test, expand, and refine our ideas through conversation with others, including those who see and live life differently than we do. For your second essay, you will combine research and analysis to take a deep dive into one challenging, open-ended existential question that matters to you.
My Vision of a Life Worth Living:
Throughout the term, we have explored the question “What does it mean to live well?” from multiple angles. You will conclude the course by writing an essay that presents your own response to this question, articulating a personal vision of the life worth living and supporting that vision with appropriate evidence.
Course Description:
What does it mean to live well? Each week, students in this seminar will grapple with this question. Our efforts will be guided by the experimental practice of essay-writing, a centuries-old method for developing knowledge in the absence of certainty. Throughout the term, we will think with a wide range of contemporary American essayists—including journalists, scientists, and YouTubers—who attempt to address urgent questions like: What does a good life feel like?, Who do we answer to?, What should we hope for?, and What should we do when we fail? We will contextualize their essays with short readings from wide-ranging philosophical and religious traditions, identifying the ways in which these traditions provide us with “equipment for living,” and then examining how essayists “test” these frameworks against the specific circumstances of their lives.
Sample of Course Materials:
Alpert, Avram. The Good-Enough Life.
Callahan, Gerald N. "Chimera."
Garber, Megan. "We're Already Living in the Metaverse."
Tolentino, Jia. "Always Be Optimizing."
Wise, Spencer. "The Second-Worst Rug My Father’s Ever Seen."
Key Assignments:
Immersion Essay:
Your first essay requires you to consider how we ascribe meaning to the scenes and details that we encounter in our daily lives. You will choose a community that you’re a part of and spend some time there observing, reflecting, and analyzing. ng. You will then produce an essay that demonstrates how the things that you observe within that community—such as the use of physical space, patterns of speech and behavior, and the organization of time—reveal that community’s vision of a life worth living.
“Joining the Conversation” Essay
Developing a vision of the life worth living requires us to test, expand, and refine our ideas through conversation with others, including those who see and live life differently than we do. For your second essay, you will combine research and analysis to take a deep dive into one challenging, open-ended existential question that matters to you.
My Vision of a Life Worth Living:
Throughout the term, we have explored the question “What does it mean to live well?” from multiple angles. You will conclude the course by writing an essay that presents your own response to this question, articulating a personal vision of the life worth living and supporting that vision with appropriate evidence.
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