| | In our fast-paced digital world, thinking people still dedicate hours to reading novels, seeing plays, watching movies. Why? In this seminar, we’ll explore the multifaceted appeal of literature, theater, and film by plunging into one great novel: Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. What is it about this story that speaks to people across decades and cultural divides? Why, worldwide, have over 60 million made les Mis the longest-running musical, and what has prompted directors to make 50 film versions of the novel?
Les Misérables, moreover, leads us readers to consider a remarkable variety of ethical dilemmas, from the personal to the international. Should Jean Valjean reveal his criminal past to save the stranger condemned in his place; or should he keep his secret and protect the financial future of his hundreds of workers? In what ways do his battles with his conscience parallel our own? How just was the criminal justice system for Valjean, and how just is America’s system today? When is war justified? Is revolution necessary for social progress? How glorious and moral is it to fight (and die?) for a cause one believes in? How moral is it to sacrifice oneself for a beloved person?
We will embark on a wide-ranging conversation about big issues such as these:
• why this novel is considered “greatâ€
• what ethical dilemmas and perspectives Hugo explores and how relevant they are for us today
• what “great literature†can do for us personally
The website shows the recent University Seminar version of the course. The Fall 2013 course will focus more on ethical issues and dilemmas, though we will still discuss the stage and screen versions of Les Misérables, what is added and what is lost from Hugo's novel. |
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DRAM 2559