Work and Ecology: Responses to the Problem
Mon, Apr 08
Wendell Berry (b. 1934) is a farmer and writer from Henry County, KY, who has responded to what fellow writer Paul Kingsnorth has called our “crisis of bigness” by counseling us to “think little.” But as Berry admits in the first line of today’s poem (which Berry recites in the video below), “it is hard to have hope” in the face of such a crisis. In our primary reading–composed of selections from the monumental lecture-turned-essay “Discipline and Hope” (1972)–Berry carefully articulates the crucial connection he gestures to in his title.
By the end of today’s class, you will:
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begin to reflect on the necessary connection between discipline and hope, especially in the face of human crises;
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begin to consider how a disciplined life can make happiness possible, even in the absence of affluent consumption; and
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begin to reflect on the role and place of discipline in your own life.
Read This:
(Access readings on Perusall)
Primary Reading: Selections from Wendell Berry’s “Discipline and Hope”
Secondary Reading: Thomas Merton, “Humility Against Despair”
Do This:
After completing the readings for today, consider the following questions (which we will talk about in class):
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Why is discipline so important? How does discipline sustain hope? What is the connection between discipline and humility?