CSP 22 We Have Something in Common: Literary Ideas and Illustrations of Community

Community is something we largely take for granted. It is a notion around which we organize our lives, as we all belong to and participate in various communities—from our neighborhoods, to our interest groups, to our nations—yet, at the same time, it is a notion we often struggle to understand or explain. What is a community, exactly; how and when do we belong to one, and what does such belonging mean to our sense of personal and social self? Literature has long meditated on these questions, from essays on the meaning and nature of community to stories about different communities, and their struggles to articulate and develop their shared sense of purpose. This course will read through a selection of these efforts, with the goal to better understand how different communities come into being, what they aim to accomplish, and how or why they succeed and fail.