Your Jorge Luis Borges Self-Study Fall 2022 Semester

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August 24 marked the 123rd anniversary of the birth of Jorge Luis Borges. That means it’s time for my yearly blog post dedicated to his life and work. In honor of his longtime roles as professor and lecturer, I’ve created a self-study/self-directed course that you can complete during 12 weeks this fall.

For simplicity, I have streamlined the content and have kept the readings to those 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. Note: 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 read editions in the original Spanish language, please do so!

Week 1: September 12, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

The Perpetual Race of Achilles and the Tortoise, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 43-47

Fiction reading:

Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, Collected Fictions, pp 68-81

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

Week 2: September 19, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

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

Fiction reading:

Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, Collected Fictions, pp 88-95

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

Week 3: September 26, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

I, a Jew, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 110-111

Fiction reading:

A Survey of the Works of Herbert Quain, Collected Fictions, pp 107-111

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

Week 4: October 3, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

A Fragment on Joyce, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 220-221

Fiction reading:

The Library of Babel, Collected Fictions, pp 112-118

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

Week 5: October 10, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

The Total Library, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 214-216

Fiction reading:

The Garden of Forking Paths, Collected Fictions, pp 119-128

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

Week 6: October 17, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

John Wilkins’ Analytical Language, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 229-232

Fiction reading:

Funes, His Memory, Collected Fictions, pp 131-137

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 24, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

A New Refutation of Time, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 317-332

Fiction reading:

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

Week 8: October 31, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

Personality and the Buddha, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 347-350

Fiction reading:

Death and the Compass, Collected Fictions, pp 147-156

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

Week 9: November 7, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

Pascal’s Sphere, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 351-353

Fiction reading:

The Immortal, Collected Fictions, pp 183-195

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

Week 10: November 14, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

On the Cult of Books, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 358-362

Fiction reading:

The Aleph, Collected Fictions, pp 274-286

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

Week 11: November 21, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

Kafka and His Precursors, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 363-365

Fiction reading:

Everything and Nothing, Collected Fictions, pp 319-320

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

Week 12: November 28, 2022

Nonfiction reading:

The Enigma of Shakespeare, Selected Non-Fictions, pp 463-472

Fiction reading:

Borges and I, Collected Fictions, p 324

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

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