This seminar offers an intensive exploration of the theological and philosophical dimensions of Flannery O’Connor’s fiction, with a focus on her distinctive religious imagination. A committed Catholic writing in the Protestant American South, O’Connor crafted stories that confront readers with unsettling visions of grace, judgment, and redemption—often mediated through grotesque characters and violent epiphanies.
Students will examine five of O’Connor’s most theologically rich short stories: “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “The Lame Shall Enter First,” “Revelation,” “The Artificial Ni**er,” and “Parker’s Back.” Seminar discussions will focus on O’Connor’s use of irony and symbol, her engagement with classical and Christian thought, and the role of suffering and the grotesque in her vision of divine grace. Students will be encouraged to articulate their own interpretations through weekly reflections and a final research paper that integrates theological insight with literary analysis.
This course is ideal for students seeking to deepen their understanding of the interplay between literature and theology, especially within the Western Christian tradition.
