SKC Research Seminar on Works of Love

From “You shall” to “Let us". The inner dynamic of individuality and sociality in Kierkegaard's Works of Love

What is Christian love, how does it differ from ‘worldly’ love and what consequences does this distinction have for a human life? These questions are at the centre of Søren Kierkegaard's analyses of love, which he wrote around the time of his 34th birthday while anticipating his death. He published Kjerlighedens Gjerninger / Works of Love in 1847 – under his own name

This seminar, which is designed as a reading group, aims to gain a deeper insight into the dynamics of the works of love through the close reading of four selected discourses. This work of Kierkgaard moves between the two imperative poles as from ‘you shall’ to ‘you can’ and raises the question of what distinguishes Christian love from worldly love.

In addition to joint reading, the seminar will provide space for participants to pose their own research questions, link them to other Kierkegaard texts and discuss them together

Four Sessions

Session 1. Tuesday, September 10 from 10.00 to 12.00: "Love's Hidden Life and Its Recognizability by its Fruits"

Session 2. Thursday, September 12 from 10.00 to 12.00: "You shall love"

Session 3. Tuesday, September 17 from 10.00 to 12.00: "Love Builds Up"

Session 4. Thursday, September 19 from 10.00 to 12.00: "The Work of Love in Praising Love"

Instructors

Lena Mausbach (University of Münster, Gerrmany)

Johanna Baumann (University of Münster, Gerrmany)

Registration

The seminar is open for all students and researchers. For registration, please write to either Lena Mausbach (lena.greb@uni-muenster.de) or Johanna Baumann (johanna.baumann@uni-muenster.de)