join us for thoughtful discussions of beloved scriptures, epics, poems, ballads, & books

as well as videos, films, articles, and TED talks in relation to the concepts of myth & memory, informed by tradition, science, and both ancient & contemporary thinkers

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if possible, please bring a dish/drink to share

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12 September: Remembering Where We Came From, Remember You Are Dust:

- the Book of Genesis

- Introduction and Chapter One of The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance by Erik Varden (Amazon.com : the shattering of loneliness on christian remembrance)

- Feeling nostalgic? Your brain is hardwired to crave it (nationalgeographic.com)

 

19 September: How Memory Works (or doesn't),Technology & Memory:

- Chapter 9 of Nicholas Carr's The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains; you can listen to the audio for free here: The Shallows, by Nicholas Carr - Chapter 09: Search, Memory [Audiobook] (Memory research) (youtube.com) (45 min)

- the Myth of Theuth (excerpt from Plato's Phaedrus) plato-myth-of-theuth.pdf (ucsb.edu)

 

3 October: Remember You Were a Slave in Egypt, Ancient Memory Techniques:

- Chapter 2 of The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance by Erik Varden

- Joshua Foer: Feats of memory anyone can do | TED Talk

 

17 October: Remember Your Homeland:

- The Odyssey – Homer, preferably translated by Fagles or Fitzgerald (Amazon.com: The Odyssey: 9780140268867: Homer, Robert Fagles, Bernard Knox: Books)

 

7 November: Memento Mori: Remember the Dead: 

- Memento Mori - Remember Your Death - The Catholic Company®;

- Read aloud during group: excerpts from A Christian Ending by J. Mark & Elizabeth J. Barna

- screening & discussion of Antigone (film)

 

14 November: Remember Lot's Wife: Keeping Our End in Sight :

- Chapter 3 of The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance by Erik Varden 

 

5 December: Conflicting Memories, The Malleability of Memory: 

- Elizabeth Loftus: How reliable is your memory? | TED Talk ;

- Til We Have Faces – C.S. Lewis (Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold: Lewis, C. S.: 9780062565419: Amazon.com: Books)

 

12 December: Remember Thy Father:

- screening and discussion of Hamlet (film)

 

30 January: A Forgotten Tale, The Desire to Be Remembered: 

- Beowulf – anonymous, preferably Tolkien’s translation

 

6 February: Remember Thy Mothers:

- screening & discussion of Henry V film

 

13 February: Remember Virtue:  

- Sir Gawain & the Green Night – anonymous, preferably Tolkien’s translation

 

6 March: Do This in Memory of Me: Re-Presentation in Liturgical Memory:

- Chapter 4 of The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance by Erik Varden;

- Read aloud at group and discuss pp 80-85 (ch.4, part 5) in Great Lent by Alexander Schmemann,

 

13 March: Remembrance as a Function of Truth: The Counsellor Will Call Everything to Mind:  

- Chapter 5 of The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance by Erik Varden

 

3 April: To Forget or Not to Forget: 

- Bing Videos How to Forget Things On Purpose; 

- Catechism of the Catholic Church - Paragraph # 2843 (scborromeo.org); 

- Why We Forget Things, According to Neuroscience | TIME;  

- Bing Videos: How to Forget Painful Memories (4 min);  

- Read aloud at group and discuss excerpts from A Primer for Forgetting by Lewis Hyde

 

10 April: Memoria Dei: Beware Lest You Forget the Lord:  

- Chapter 6 of The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance by Erik Varden

 

1 May: Remember, I am an Ass:

- screening & discussion of Midsummer Night's Dream

 

8 May: When We Can't Remember:

- The Buried Giant – Kazuo Ishiguro; 

- Memory: how we lose it and how we keep it (youtube.com) (48 min video); 

- Bing Videos - Dimentia - This is Our Story (6.5 min)