Self-Knowledge and Autobiographical Literature in the Middle Ages – Brian Stock
The course focused on self-knowledge, autobiographical writings, and the theory of reading in late antiquity. I began by discussing reading in St. Augustine’s *Confessions* (Books I–IX), then moved on to issues of ethics and literary experience in Augustine’s writings prior to his self-portrait, and finally examined the medieval use of reading in the spiritual and autobiographical writings of Julian of Norwich, Marjorie Kempe, and Petrarch, concluding with a general overview of the transformation of medieval meditation, reading practices, and autobiographical writing in the early Renaissance. A final lecture complemented the opening lecture, which focused on self-knowledge and autobiography before and after the emergence of a theory of reading in Augustine.
Established in 1992, the International Annual Chair is intended to host, for one academic year, a scholar from an Eastern European country or from another continent.
