Why did the the authors of the Texas Constitution demand a "university of the first class ... for the promotion of literature?" In other words, what did "literature" stand for in 1876, and what is its value today?

John Henry Newman, the Victorian Englishman who wrote The Idea of a University a few years before the Texas Constitution was framed, gives us a clue. His work may well have influenced, directly or indirectly, the authors of the Texas Constitution. He continues to influence us: President Flawn cited him recently in an address to the university.

Newman distinguished between "notional" assent, an intellectual assent to a proposition, and what he called "real" assent, assent of the whole person: the heart as well as the head. Literature can create "real assent" in us, or, in the words we now use, help us cultivate our EQ as well our IQ, the right as well as the left side of our brain.

One of the goals of this course, and perhaps of the framers of the Texas Constituion, is for you to find some aspects of literature that you will remember long after the course is over. In other words, the goal is "real" assent rather than merely "notional" assent. If our goal is the education of the whole person, we need to recall that, as Newman put it in his Grammar of Assent, "the heart is commonly reached, not through the reason, but through the imagination, by means of direct impressions, by the testimony of facts and events, by history, by description. Persons influence us, voices melt us, looks subdue us, deeds inflame us." Exercises of imagination such as literary works, engaging us by concrete impressions, can be extremely valuable in the education of the whole person. We will discuss how literature helps us develop emotional literacy and especially the sympathetic imagination that is the basis of all morality. Keep these goals in mind when you join in the web site discussion.

Use your Internet discussions to demonstrate that you read ALL the assignments CAREFULLY. This is a way to prepare for the final exam by comparing nineteenth and twentieth century views and feelings about many different subjects. Tune in to how your right as well as your left brain is reacting as you read. This is a chance to increase your vocabulary of feelings as suggested in the course anthology and began to articulate and trust your intuitive side more. In addition to your intellectual responses, we will be looking for your awareness of and ability to articulate your emotional reactions to the literary work. This is not to be confused with your awareness of emotions in the characters in the book, and is not quite the same as speculation about how you would feel if you were one of the characters. Instead of talking about how you would feel if ..., talk about how you actually felt as you read the passage which affected you. Use the following format: "I felt" followed by an emotion, like those listed in the vocabulary of feelings in the anthology. Focus on how you felt when you read the passage or feel now rereading it, not just what you think about it. Surprisingly, such phrases as "I felt that ..." or "I felt like" can actually lead you away from feelings and into thoughts, especially "I felt that." Try to be aware of deep emotions of fear, sadness, joy and love rather than merely intellectual surprise, confusion, amusement, curiosity, etc. Be as specific as possible. It is good to note, "I felt moved," or "I felt touched," but better to specify exactly how you were moved or touched, exactly what emotion was touched or moved within you. In addition, you will be graded on how carefully you have read the assignment, how much you have learned about the nineteenth century, and how well you can relate it to your own life and times.