Introductions

Plan for year; commonalities. connect between history, philosophy and literature. Book for spring term?

Problems: random, chaos theory (the longer we look at recurring events the more erratic they appear to be; the more we look at chaotic events, the more pattern we find.

Random / chance // fate / predetermination

the pursuit of order; anxiety and the illusion of control

• to predict successfully creates the impression of control
• yet nature and human beings often act in apparently chaotic and unpredicable ways and that leads to anxiety
• the study of history my be compared to the art of psycho-therapy in that understanding the past and how humans have coped with 'chaos' / 'uncertainty' alleviates anxiety about the present and suggest control of the future.Wishful thinking?? most historians would probably agree, but no one can deny that human behavior is influenced by anxiety and the desire to control.

What makes a classic?

• Why read and reread Antigone? or watch Casablanca or Star Wars or Godfather? why remake Jane Austin's Emma?
• Note how shifting the historical setting allows the author to discuss themes that might be impossible to address using contemporary characters and historical settings. Greek tragedy...events rarely set at Athens; Verdi, Nabucco

Facts: to totality of, historical significance;