Augustine and Autobiography: Confessions as a Roadmap for Self-Reflection

Religions

Mark S. M. Scott¹  Scott McGinnis¹ 

[1] Augustine and Culture Seminar Program, Villanova University, Saint Augustine Center, Room 76, 800 E. Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085, USA; E-Mail

关键词: Augustine;    Confessions;    pedagogy;    education;    autobiography;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rel6010139

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In this article, I explore a pedagogical strategy for teaching Augustine’s Confessions to undergraduate students, which involves a final essay assignment. In the assignment, students compose their own “confessions” at the end of the term that employs Augustine’s Confessions as a roadmap for rigorous self-reflection. Like Augustine, they must employ a creative literary frame, without duplicating his rhetorical technique of framing his autobiography as a prayer to God. Moreover, they must reflect on the salient questions, key people, pivotal moments that have shaped them, and analyze their shifts in worldviews. The assignment aims to demystify Augustine and to reinforce the evolving nature of the self as it moves through time and absorbs new ideas and experiences, as well as helping students begin to formulate a coherent and constructive life narrative.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.