Aphorism
A common lament, today, is that people don’t read long form texts any more. This group starts from the opposite question: what can we learn by engaging with “very short texts” (VST).
This is an experiment in the focused study of the short form: aphorisms, fragments, memes, [the text formerly known as “tweets”], sayings, and very short stories.
Each meeting we will choose one VST, read it together, and discuss. We will look at various strategies for reading and interpretation. No reading in advance is required.
General Readings
Grant, Ben. 2016. The Aphorism and Other Short Forms. London: Routledge.
Hui, Andrew. 2019. A Theory of the Aphorism: From Confucius to Twitter. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Who: Inquire to participate
When: Dates TBD
Where: Hybrid (Zoom & In-Person)
(Columbia University, Teachers College, 5th Fl. Library)
Whoever writes in blood and aphorisms does not want to be read,
but to be learned by heart. In the mountains the shortest way is from peak to peak,
but for that one must have long legs.
Aphorisms should be peaks––and those who are addressed should be great and tall.
Nietzsche
Thus Spake Zarathustra
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