Why should we want to know anything? How should we pursue knowledge? Is curiosity a good thing? How much knowledge should a person acquire? Is there such a thing as too much knowledge? Is knowledge harmful to an individual or to a society? How should we apply our knowledge? Are knowledge and wisdom the same thing? Can knowledge and wisdom lead to a better life? Do we trust someone with knowledge or wisdom more? Who should give or is qualified to give advice? What advice can be trusted? In thinking about these questions, we will also explore how wisdom and knowledge intersect with and are modulated by such categories as age, gender, class, and religion.

In this class, we will explore the role of wisdom and knowledge in a wide range of medieval, early modern, and other literature. Wisdom literatures (including proverb collections, prophecies, and advice literature) are ancient, highly valued, and cross-cultural bodies of texts that raise issues related to such diverse aspects as learning, advice, social structures and regulations, moral behavior, the value of experiences, the power of knowledge, and gender relations. Starting with biblical precursors of medieval and later wisdom literature, as well as pre-modern and contemporary theoretical writings on curiosity and knowledge, we will think about how different traditions value wisdom, advice, and the pursuit of knowledge, how these views find literary expressions, and how we might apply these literary insights to our own lives. This class is a Writing Intensive Course.

Readings include: Old Testament readings, biblical proverbs and advice literature, Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions, Old English poetry, selections from the Canterbury Tales, and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus.

Assignments include: shorter writing assignments; essays and revisions; leading discussion; discussion board postings; and a poster presentation.