Brann lectures on `Greatness' of books
By C. SPENCER BEGGS
News Writer
Eva Brann kicked off the Program of Liberal Studies (PLS) department's conference entitled "Liberal Learning and the Great Books" Wednesday evening with her lecture "About the Greatness of Great Books."
The conference denotes the 50th anniversary of Notre Dame's PLS.
Brann, speaking to an audience composed of PLS faculty, alumni and students, kept attention for close to an hour as she lectured about why the Great Books deserve the intellectual study of serious students and educators.
The Great Books are defined as a set of classical texts that educators feel promote the most rounded education.
Brann said of the motivation for studying the works, "It is good for us to be driven, from time to time, to rake up the roots of our activity."
Specifically, Brann's lecture addressed four problems facing the study of the Great Books, which she feels, have "fallen on hard times."
First, Brann questioned whether the Great Books were "a kind" — whether the Great Books could be considered as a discrete set of works and whether that classification was natural.
Brann said that the Great Books are, indeed, a natural kind. Brann spoke to the reasons why the Great Books elicit such repulsion in general study.
"There's nothing warm and fuzzy about Great Books," said Brann.
Brann still thinks, however, that students should be encouraged to study the Great Books for their intrinsic educational value.
The third issue Brann's lecture raised concerned what determines whether a book is a Great Book.
Brann referred the audience to the famous Emily Dickinson quote on the issue, "How do you tell a Great Book? Your hair stand on end and your neck feels prickly."
Beyond tingling sensations beneath one's collar, Brann believe that there are three basic components a literary work must have to be a Great Book.
First, a Great Book must be inexhaustible. That is that each time the book is read the reader gains a new and deeper understanding of the text.
Brann also believes that a great book should consist of solidarity.
Brann thinks that as the book is reread its structure and argumentation "coagulate" to provide definite answers or pose intellectual questions. Great Books have serious gravity over the topics they cover.
Lastly, Brann thinks that Great Books' "substance must shape [their] expression." She said Great Books must be written in a way that best conveys that material to the reader.
Finally, Brann addressed how the Great Books should be applied to liberal studies.
Brann quipped that the PLS program was wonderful "if the University itself weren't supposed to be a program of liberal learning."
After Brann outlined her argument, the program proceeded onto a question and answer session where she fielded queries from all areas of education including: censorship, cultural literacy at the primary and secondary school levels and the relevancy of writing assignments to a liberal studies program like Notre Dame's PLS.
PLS students study a canon of classic literature beginning in their sophomore year.
It is regularly cited as one of the University's top academic programs by college reviews.
PLS senior Beth Marino describes the benefit of studying Great Books as being intrinsically gratifying.
"I think that in other parts of my education … [I] learned to read in a specific way."
In PLS you learn to read and look for what the author is getting at, the true meaning of the text,"said Marino.
Further lectures on the same topic will be held Thursday, April 5 in McKenna Hall as the conference continues.
The conference concludes Friday morning.
All News Stories for Thursday, April 5, 2001
