This event is sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute’s Nicklin Fellows Program, which supports and encourages University of Chicago undergraduate students to develop their intellectual maturity. Jordan Gabriel, who designed this program, is a 2023-2024 Nicklin Fellow. This program is for undergraduate students only.
REGISTER HERE
“Wherefore my destiny? Why do I possess such a thirst for eternity?” For Spanish existentialist philosopher, Miguel de Unamuno, awareness of these two fundamentally human questions is to possess a “tragic sense of life.” By understanding it, we find the answers to our lives, navigating the conflict between faith and reason, our longing for immortality, and the interplay of faith, hope, and love in the tragicomic nature of life itself.
SCHEDULE:
SESSION 1, April 2nd
Chapter I: “The Man of Flesh and Bone” (Pages 4-23) – This chapter sets the stage for Unamuno’s exploration of the human condition, focusing on the conflict between faith and reason.’
(Optional) Chapter 2: “The Point of Departure” (Pages 24-42) – This chapter delves deeper into Unamuno’s exploration of the human condition and sets a strong foundation for understanding his tragic sense of life.
SESSION II, April 16th
Chapter V: “The Hunger for Immortality” (Pages 43-64) – In this chapter, Unamuno discusses the human desire for immortality and the existential anguish that arises from our awareness of mortality.
(Optional) Chapter VII: “Love, Pain, Compassion, and Personality” (Pages 146-71) – This chapter further explores Unamuno’s existential themes, focusing on the interplay between love, suffering, and the development of personal identity.
SESSION III, April 30th
Chapter IX: “Faith, Hope, and Charity” (Pages 204-235) – This chapter explores Unamuno’s views on religion and the role of faith, hope, and love in the human experience.
SESSION IV, May 7th
Chapter XI: “Don Quixote in the Contemporary European Tragi-Comedy” (Pages 322-360) – Unamuno uses the figure of Don Quixote to illustrate his existentialist ideas and the tragicomic nature of life.
Viewing of While at War (Mientras dure la guerra)