RELI1039A-W17
The Gita in Walden
The Gita in Walden
In the Walden chapter “The Pond in Winter,” Henry David Thoreau recounts a morning spent reading “the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy” of the classic Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita. “The pure Walden water,” he notes, “is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges.” In this course we will study that curious “mingling” through a comparative reading of Walden and the Bhagavad Gita. As we read these texts side-by-side, we will consider their intellectual contexts of Transcendentalism and Hinduism, and trace the influence of both texts in such thinkers as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Annie Dillard, and others.
In the Walden chapter “The Pond in Winter,” Henry David Thoreau recounts a morning spent reading “the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy” of the classic Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita. “The pure Walden water,” he notes, “is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges.” In this course we will study that curious “mingling” through a comparative reading of Walden and the Bhagavad Gita. As we read these texts side-by-side, we will consider their intellectual contexts of Transcendentalism and Hinduism, and trace the influence of both texts in such thinkers as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Annie Dillard, and others.
- Term:
- Winter 2017
- Location:
- Le Chateau 107(CHT 107)
- Schedule:
- 1:00pm-4:00pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday (Jan 9, 2017 to Feb 3, 2017)
- Type:
- Lecture
- Instructors:
- Daniel Cooperrider
- Subject:
- Religion
- Department:
- Religion
- Division:
- Humanities
- Requirements Fulfilled:
- LIT PHL WTR
- Levels:
- Undergraduate
- Availability:
- View availability, prerequisites, and other requirements.
- Course Reference Number (CRN):
- 11436
- Subject Code:
- RELI
- Course Number:
- 1039
- Section Identifier:
- A