Buber Resources
Martin Buber Background Web Links for Session #2 - and some hints for reading I and Thou
The Buber home page, with a brief bio, and lots of links - including to some electronic texts of secondary research. Good to browse now and go back to later. Under "Life" there is a time line linked at the left ("biography") that is helpful. Under "Material" there's a thoughtful article for the philosophically-minded in the class, "Of Dialogue and Trust: Buber's religious thought".
http://courses.washington.edu/spcmu/buber/
Great website giving overview of his life and thought in general - lots of pictures!
Read this one for sure.
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-buber.htm
A page of excerpts on Buber and education. This gives a helpful introduction to many of the key ideas we will be working through in the book, so consider reading this before you do your reading journal writing.
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As you begin to read I and Thou, keep these hints in mind:
Budget a bit more time for this book than you would ordinarily for such a short book, and be sure to get started early. Definitely don't put it off! Read it in several sessions, over several days. You may find it useful to read it twice.
Though I and Thou is not lengthy, it is a work of serious religious and philosophical reflection, involving complex thought and the expression of profound religious experience. However, do recognize that the central ideas recur over and over through the writing. For this reason, read carefully (consider the following suggestions), but don't get hung up on a particular section that you may be having difficulty with -- move on and come back. After discussion of the book, more will come clear.
Reading suggestions:
- Consider keeping a dictionary handy.
- Use the reading notes on this web site as you go along.
- Read for a limited amount of time, then take a break and write a bit about your response, then read some more.
- If something is completely obscure or confusing for you, take note of that and move on. Note the confusing place and bring it up in your notes or discussion.
- In your response, focus primarily on the broad ideas and the ways Buber's ideas can be applied to understanding religious experience or commitments. Pay attention to memories or examples from your own experience that connect with his descriptions and his examples.
Additional reading for the adventurous:
Background on Judaism and Hasidism
http://www.pbs.org/alifeapart/intro.html
Has a list of articles which give the history and description of Hasidic Judaism (especially in the United States). Helpful as a background to Buber's thought.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Hasidism.html
"Jewish Virtual Library" - another article with more detail.