443 - Kale Zelden - There’s Still Time to Read the Great Books

443 - Kale Zelden - There’s Still Time to Read the Great Books

Kale Zelden is a literature teacher and writer and in this video he joins me to discuss reading, the "Great books", and what it means to recover the reading tradition in a modern context. We talk about how to encounter old texts, what reading can contribute to our lives, and how to approach authors like Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare without reducing them to modern assumptions. We also explore the limits of the novel, modernism, postmodernism, irony, and the essential rediscovery of the epic.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/9zps7RIov44

Kale’s Substack, The Underneath: https://kalezelden.substack.com/

Join us at the Symbolic World Summit | May 14-16 | Ohio | Keynote speakers: Jonathan Pageau, Fr. Josiah Trenham, Mary Harrington, Dcn. Seraphim Rohlin, Kale Zelden, Annie Crawford, and Heather Pollington
Buy your tickets: https://symbolicworldsummit.com/

Learn more about Pavel Shchelin's phenomenal course on Plutarch, Live now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/plutarch-symbolism-in-history


TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Coming up
01:07 - Intro music
01:32 - Introduction
02:09 - The state of education
07:30 - First of all
10:47 - The power of analogy
13:11 - Select your curriculum
21:05 - What is canon?
33:24 - What are we moving towards
39:20 - Allegory
43:47 - What is modernism?
47:50 - Great books program
53:24 - What is the epic?


BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS DISCUSSION:
00:04:45
Augustine — Confessions — Spiritual autobiography, early Christian thought
Plato — Dialogues — Philosophy of truth, justice, knowledge
Aristotle — (various works) — Ethics, logic, metaphysics
Church Fathers — (various writings) — Foundations of Christian theology
00:06:20
Anne Rice — (novels) — Modern popular fiction
Shakespeare — (general works) — Foundational drama
Beowulf — Anonymous — Old English epic poem
00:06:49
Plato — Dialogues — Rediscovered philosophical texts
00:07:32
Shakespeare — Hamlet — Tragedy of revenge and doubt
Dante — Divine Comedy — Vision of Hell, Purgatory, Heaven
Chaucer — Canterbury Tales — Medieval storytelling
Mary Shelley — Frankenstein — Creation and responsibility
Milton — Paradise Lost — Epic of the Fall
00:13:55
Kerouac — On the Road — Modern freedom and experience
Camus — (e.g. The Stranger) — Existential philosophy
00:14:31
Homer — Iliad, Odyssey — Foundational epics
Plato — Apology, Republic — Justice and philosophy
Shakespeare —
Romeo and Juliet — Tragic love
Julius Caesar — Politics and betrayal
Macbeth — Ambition and guilt
A Midsummer Night’s Dream — Comedy and illusion
King Lear — Suffering and authority
Hamlet — Existential tragedy
The Tempest — Reconciliation
00:16:21
Dostoevsky — Crime and Punishment — Guilt and redemption
Dostoevsky — The Brothers Karamazov — Faith and morality
00:21:31
Voyage of St. Brendan — Medieval Christian voyage
Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius — Apocalyptic text
The Golden Legend — Jacobus de Voragine — Saints’ lives
00:21:58
Cervantes — Don Quixote — Satire of chivalry, early novel
00:22:51
Jane Austen — Pride and Prejudice — Social psychology
00:23:59
Milton — Paradise Lost — (revisited, epic psychology)
00:26:11
Faulkner — (novels) — Fragmented modern storytelling
00:33:41
C.S. Lewis — On Stories — Defense of story over psychology
C.S. Lewis — Abolition of Man — Critique of modern values
C.S. Lewis — Miracles — Defense of the supernatural
00:37:05
Sondheim — Into the Woods — Modern fairy tale deconstruction
00:38:55
Rabelais — Gargantua and Pantagruel — Satirical, playful text
00:44:06
Melville — Moby-Dick — Epic-scale novel
Hemingway — The Sun Also Rises — Modern disillusionment
00:49:42
Ovid — Metamorphoses — Mythic transformations
00:46:13 (thinkers mentioned)
Lyotard — Postmodern philosophy
Derrida — Deconstruction
Heidegger — Phenomenology
00:53:14
Virgil — Aeneid — Roman epic
Bible — (Moses narrative) — Epic of calling and suffering

🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:
-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5
-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

Jaksot(444)

398 - The Time for Orthodox Art is NOW

398 - The Time for Orthodox Art is NOW

In this talk at the Orthodox Arts Festival of 2025, I share my vision for a renewal of Orthodox Christian art rooted in meaningful participation and true celebration. We are living through the collaps...

11 Kesä 20251h 12min

397 - Nicholas Reeves - What Is Music?

397 - Nicholas Reeves - What Is Music?

In this conversation, I sit down with composer and church musician Nicholas Reeves to explore one of the great mysteries: music. Why does music move us so deeply? How does it reflect symbolic patterns...

31 Touko 20251h 4min

396 - Seraphim Hamilton - Scripture: The Key to Reality

396 - Seraphim Hamilton - Scripture: The Key to Reality

In this conversation, I talk with Seraphim Hamilton about how scripture does more than tell a story—it reveals a symbolic pattern that runs through all of creation. We dig into how the Bible presents ...

23 Touko 202551min

395 - Beauty First: Envisioning a Civilization Worth Restoring (ARC Roundtable)

395 - Beauty First: Envisioning a Civilization Worth Restoring (ARC Roundtable)

This is an informal roundtable discussion among friends and artists at the 2025 London ARC Conference that includes myself, Andrew Gould, Aidan Hart, Heather Pollington, Neil and Kate DeGraide from Di...

16 Touko 20251h 6min

394 - The World War II Consensus is Breaking Down

394 - The World War II Consensus is Breaking Down

Several years ago, I coined the phrase “watch the fool,” because in a world turned upside down, the fool can strangely point to what’s coming and in some ways play a role in restoring order —for good ...

16 Touko 202537min

393 - Wheels Within Wheels: The Universe as a Symbol

393 - Wheels Within Wheels: The Universe as a Symbol

In this excerpt from the second lecture of the Symbolism Masterclass, I take you deeper than ever into one of the most powerful and mysterious patterns that underlies the cosmos. We explore the strang...

13 Touko 202541min

392 - Richard Rohlin - Universal History: Symbols From the Edge of the World

392 - Richard Rohlin - Universal History: Symbols From the Edge of the World

In this episode, Richard Rohlin and I continue our discussion of The Voyage of St. Brendan, focusing on some of the stranger episodes in the story. We look at encounters with sea creatures, a sea gian...

6 Touko 20251h 35min

391 - The Controversy over "Christ is King"

391 - The Controversy over "Christ is King"

A few weeks ago, a study came out criticizing the use of the phrase "Christ is King"—and it stirred up a lot of strong reactions, including my own. In this video, I take you through the symbolism, his...

29 Huhti 202516min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-narsisti
adhd-podi
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-rahamania
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-psykalab
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rss-niinku-asia-on
kesken
psykologia
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi
puhutaan-koiraa
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-rentotapaus
rss-lasnaolon-hetkia-mindfulness-tutuksi
rahapuhetta