Walking is literally in our bones. It is a physical act that is one of the characteristic traits of our species. It is also a topic, a trope, a theme in a vast worldwide literature. This course will explore the relationship between the two. What ideas about walking permeate these writings, and how might walking itself be conducive to writing, as well as physical well-being, sociability, activism, and contemplation? How has walking figured in the thought and imaginative writing of the past? What does it mean to walk? Focusing on the tropes of pilgrimage, pathway, and trail, we will explore writings that consider walking as physical and emotional therapy, as spiritual and creative practice, and as protest and persecution. The objective of the course is that we arrive at a deeper understanding of writing about walking, and indeed of walking itself.
Walking is literally in our bones. It is a physical act that is one of the characteristic traits of our species. It is also a topic, a trope, a theme in a vast worldwide literature. This course will explore the relationship between the two. What ideas about walking permeate these writings, and how might walking itself be conducive to writing, as well as physical well-being, sociability, activism, and contemplation? How has walking figured in the thought and imaginative writing of the past? What does it mean to walk? Focusing on the tropes of pilgrimage, labyrinth, pathway, and trail, we will explore writings that consider walking as a form of solitude and sociability, as therapy, as spiritual and creative practice, and as protest and persecution. The objective of the course is that we arrive at a deeper understanding of writing about walking, and indeed of walking itself.
