1. The Dark Night of the Soul
ENGL 122, Making Writing Matter, Instructor Kingsley

2. Richard E. Miller, Writing at the End of the World

3. “The challenge for all those whose lives are inextricably bound to the literate arts, is to make a compelling case for why writing might be said to matter in the twenty- first century….What isn’t clear, though, is …how to use writing as a practice for constructing a sense of hope and optimism atop the ruins of previous worlds.  Is it possible to produce writing that generates a greater sense of connection to the world and its inhabitants?  Of self-understanding?  Writing that moves out from the mundane, personal tragedies that mark any individual life into the history, the culture, and the lives of the institutions that surround us all?” Richard E. Miller, Writing At the End of the World

4. Ask Questions/Examine
What are these “ruins of previous worlds” that I am writing on top of?
“Ruins of previous worlds” brings to mind an image of destruction, things crumbled, left-over, rampaged. I think of war or a natural disaster like an earthquake. Miller wonders how writing addresses or writes on top of this destruction.
What do connection and self-understanding tell us about Miller’s vision for writing?
Miller seems to promote this idea or envisions this idea that writing might connect one person to another or can better produce an understanding of ourselves in the world.

5. Putting it together: Miller’s vision
Summary
Throughout the paragraph, Miller questions the place of writing in the world. Do we optimistically write on top of “ruins”? Or, do we use writing to connect to each other and develop a stronger sense of our own selves in the world? These are big questions to ask about writing. Miller doesn’t necessarily answer these questions, and, at times, even seems suspicious that writing can address these critical questions of the humanities.
Critical Analysis

6. “In a secular society, education is the most powerful resource citizens have to ensure a bright future for themselves. But what is one to do when the future includes a radio active wasteland in the northern Ukraine? The smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center? Looted museums in a bomb-out Baghdad? No meaningful discussion of the humanities can proceed without confronting such examples of human depravity?” Richard E. Miller (pp. ix-x)

7. In 3 Large Groups Introduce yourselves
1 person can read through the paragraph while the others annotate (observe, mark).
Discuss what you marked…come up with a list of 3 of the most important terms or phrases of the paragraph.
Take a few minutes to individually sketch out some questions in relation to those specific terms or phrases
Discuss/answer those questions
Put it together as a summary of the paragraph and an analysis of Miller’s vision. (i.e. What is Miller saying? What is his vision? What are you taking away from this paragraph? Or, what’s significant? How do you respond?)
Be ready to present (elect 3-5 people to speak)

8. Next Class
Read “The Dark Night of the Soul” (PDF online) Check this afternoon
Annotate the full text (observe, mark, ask questions)
Choose one paragraph from the text to more closely analyze (in your reading notes) using the process we outlined in class (Observe, Mark, Create a Set of Questions, Answer, and Summarize/Analyze)