Take Your Seats For the Jorge Luis Borges Self-Study Fall 2023 Semester

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August 24 is the 124th anniversary of the birth of Jorge Luis Borges, and I imagine he’d have appreciated the near-symmetry of those numbers.

As I have done for a number of years, I’m dedicating a blog post to his life and work to mark the occasion.

This post follows up on my tribute from last year, where in honor of his longtime roles as professor and lecturer, I’ve created a self-study/self-directed course that you can work on and complete during 12 weeks this fall.

The format is the same as last year, and while all the readings have changed, they are still contained in two of the major compendiums of his work: Selected Non-Fictions and Collected Fictions. 

Each week I have made a selection from the two books, with a short written assignment. Both of these books will have their 25th anniversary next year, which will also mark 125 years of Borges. This means we will see even more interest in and activity around his life and work during that time.

As I noted in 2022, if you do not have access to these books, feel free to use translations from other editions, and/or translations available online. And if you can find and read editions in the original Spanish language, please do so!

Week 1: September 11, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

Time and J.W. Dunne, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 217-219

Fiction reading:

The Circular Ruins, Collected Fictions, pp 96-100

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 2: September 18, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

Coleridge’s Flower, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 240-242

Fiction reading:

The Other, Collected Fictions, pp 411-417

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 3: September 25, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

Flaubert and His Exemplary Destiny, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 390-393

Fiction reading:

“Undr,” Collected Fictions, pp 455-459

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 4: October 2, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

On Literary Description, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 233-235

Fiction reading:

Shakespeare’s Memory, Collected Fictions, pp 508-515

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 5: October 9, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

The Enigma of Edward FitzGerald, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 366-368

Fiction reading:

The Secret Miracle, Collected Fictions, pp 157-162

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 6: October 16, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

A Defense of the Kabbalah, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 83-86

Fiction reading:

The Theologians, Collected Fictions, pp 201-207

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Midterm

Visit the Borges Center/University of Pittsburgh website. Choose any two sections (for instance bibliographies, and interviews) and write 500-700 words about how the material in that section compares to the readings in the first part of the course.

Week 7: October 23, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

From Someone to Nobody, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 341-343

Fiction reading:

The Sect of the Thirty, Collected Fictions, pp 443-445

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 8: October 30, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

The Wall and the Books, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 344-346

Fiction reading:

The Theme of the Traitor and the Hero, Collected Fictions, pp 143-146

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 9: November 6, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

Circular Time, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 225-228

Fiction reading:

Emma Zunz, Collected Fictions, pp 215-219

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 10: November 13, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

A History of the Echoes of a Name, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 405-408

Fiction reading:

The South, Collected Fictions, pp 174-179

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 11: November 20, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

On Oscar Wilde, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 314-316

Fiction reading:

The Lottery in Babylon, Collected Fictions, pp 101-106

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Week 12: November 27, 2023

Nonfiction reading:

Forms of A Legend, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 373-376

Fiction reading:

The Duel, Collected Fictions, pp 381-385

Writing exercise: In 250-500 words, compare the two readings, identifying any themes or ideas they might have in common

Final

Return to the Borges Center/University of Pittsburgh website. Choose a different section from the one you included at the midterm, and write 700-1000 words about how the material in that section compares to the readings in the second part of the course.

Please include some material about how the readings in both parts of the course deepened your understanding about Borges’ life, work, writing craft, and creative process.

Bibliography

Borges Center/University of Pittsburgh https://www.borges.pitt.edu/

Jorge Luis Borges: Collected Fictions, Translated by Andrew Hurley, Penguin Books, 1999; 565 pp.

Jorge Luis Borges: Selected Non-Fictions, Translated by Eliot Weinberger, Viking, 1999; 559 pp.

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Bruce Rosenstein

Author, Editor, Speaker, BLOGGER

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