Part A:
What makes our lives significant? Bring an item to class that carries some kind of personal historical significance something that connects you in a meaningful way to your own journey and the meaning that you have found in that journey.
Read the following:
Aristotle, from Nicomachean Ethics
Steinbeck, from East of Eden
The Martyrdom of Perpetua
Wilkie Au and Noreen Cannon Au, "Refining the Acoustics of the Heart" (E-Reserve) Confucius, "Benevolence," in Anthology of World Scriptures (E-Reserve)
Brene Brown TED Talk, "The Power of Vulnerability": http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
Essay - Based on the readings and the video, write a 3-4 page essay describing your discernment of authenticity, virtue, and value in your current life. Connect your essay to the main ideas in at least 5 of the assigned readings.
Part B:
What are the sources of my identify?
Read the following: Dorothy L. Sayers, "Why Work?"
Margaret Piercy, "To Be of Use"
Vincent Harding, "I Hear Them....Calling"
Annie Dillard, "Living Like Weasels"
Abraham Joshua Heschel, from The Sabbath
Paul Waldau, "Spirituality in a Local World: Beyond the Divide of Theism/Atheism" (E-reserves).
Essay - Write a 3-4 page essay on your personal sources of identity. In this essay, describe the events, experiences, or persons that bring meaning or significance to your life. How do these impact your sense of purpose, your place in the big scheme of things, your psychological well-being, and your spiritual fulfillment? Which readings especially spoke to you as you contemplated questions of personal identity? Be sure to incorporate at least 4 of the assigned readings in your essay.