HOW DOES THE HUMAN PSYCHE COPE WITH TRAUMA? Pi faces an unbelievable trauma and physical ordeal. He loses his entire family, and then is faced with what should be certain death. And yet, he manages to cope with this experience and endure. How can we adapt and survive such difficult experiences? When pushed to the limit, what happens to the human mind? We watch Pi's encounter with his shadow-self this week, and will witness what might be a psychic break and a delusion in the form of an island. Finally, students will finish reading the novel, and we will finish our class with a modern-day fairy tale.

MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS

Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:50 and 1:50 pm.
Check Canvas announcements for the link to Zoom.

TUESDAY: BLUE DAY / No class

Continue reading Life of Pi.

WEDNESDAY: GREEN DAY

We will start with a zoom meeting at 12:50, and the link is on our Canvas syllabus.
Starting with a journal entry: What is the moral/ethical/metaphysical compass by which you guide your decisions and your life?
Discussion: What are the observations Pi makes and the questions that Pi poses that help him better understand both himself and his place in the larger world?
Homework: Read up through and including chapter 91 (up to page 256)

THURSDAY: BLUE DAY / no class

Watch film selections on squarespace, “Monty Python / Madagascar," and, of course, keep reading.

FRIDAY: GREEN DAY

Starting with a Zoom meeting. The link is on the Canvas syllabus.
Together we will watch a documentary of physical endurance and psychological ordeal: The Endurance, the story of Earnest Shackleton.