REL 352/452-01 Seminar on C. S. Lewis

Terry Lindvall, PhD, C. S. Lewis Chair of Communication and Christian Thought

Department of Religious Studies, Virginia Wesleyan College

Summer 2007, June 25-July 3/4, Oxford , England

Course Description:

This seminar aims at establishing a conversation with the writings of one of the most articulate Christian spokespersons of the 20^th century. Even before the advent of the Disney/Walden adaptation of his Narnian fiction, C. S. Lewis was renowned for his literary, philosophical, and critical writings, being a Medieval and Renaissance scholar before becoming, alas, a celebrity, most probably to his great chagrin and embarrassment.

Key to the success of Lewis’ religious writings was his communication strategy committed to translating theology into the vernacular. With such a practice, Lewis’s writings fit in the vibrant tradition of the Hebrew prophets, Jesus’ parables, Augustine’s confessions, Hildegaard’s plays, Kierkegaard’s ironies, and Chesterton’s journalistic essays. All these religious communicators found ways to attract audiences and suggest truth through the back doors of the imagination.

In order to fully appreciate Lewis and his contribution to both religious and literary studies, it is worth understanding him in his primary environments, which are Oxford and Cambridge . By living and studying in these two University towns, and in particular reading and tutoring in Lewis’ own home, the Kilns, our understanding of Lewis will be greatly enhanced.  In tea rooms and pubs, on walking tours through Addison ’s Way and within the BBC, we will imbibe the words and spirit of Lewis, being placed in the authentic context of his writing and speaking. Our conversation with Lewis on his home turf will augment our sense of the British author and his understanding of hermeneutics, apologetics, parabolic communication, myth and fact, reason and imagination, and concepts such as the Numinous and Sehnsucht as they inform his communication. This seminar aims at cultivating habits of thought for reading, reflections, interactions, and formal writings regarding Lewis and those who shaped him, such as G. K. Chesterton, Charles Williams, and J. R. R. Tolkien.

Specific Objectives:

1.               Discuss the canon of C. S. Lewis and track the historical, literary, and philosophical antecedents that shaped his thought and writing.

2.               Discern underlying philosophical and theological assumptions of Lewis’ discursive and fictional work and analyze the ways in which values are expressed and worked out in human discourse.