How might the reading of texts contribute to the development of student character in higher education? In this seminar Dr Emma Cohen de Lara (Amsterdam University College) and Prof. Rosalía Baena (University of Navarra) discuss philosophical and literary methodologies for reading texts in such a way that foregrounds the readers’ experiences. They explore how specific texts may be selected with character education in mind, while acknowledging the autonomy of students as moral agents. The seminar draws on the recently published edited volume Literature and Character Education in Universities (Routledge, 2021), and their experiences as teachers of core text seminars at European universities.
Dr. Emma Cohen de Lara is a Senior Lecturer in Political Theory at Amsterdam University College (AUC) and Research Fellow at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research. Her research and teaching interests are in classical and medieval political philosophy, ethics and education and she has a particular interest in Platonic virtue ethics and moral education.
Prof. Rosalía Baena is Associate Professor of English at the University of Navarra. Her main research interests deal with narrative theory, contemporary life writing, narrative empathy, and the phenomenology of reading.