CMRS Associate Leonard Koff Fuses Chaucer and the Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas

Published: April 4, 2019

Previewing our lecture by CMRS Associate Leonard Koff, PhD, is an article in the UCLA Daily Bruin.

“The UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies will host associate Koff’s lecture Thursday. The lecture applies Emmanuel Levinas’ philosophical theories to The Pardoner’s Tale. The chapter, part of The Canterbury Tales, is narrated by a corrupt pardoner who uses a cautionary tale to trick listeners into giving him money. As an element of the lecture, the tale will be a conduit for exploring Levinas’ theories about how human existence is defined by interactions.”

“'(Levinas) offers a way to explain aspects of literature where characters are seen to … understand who they are, how they are living,’ Koff said.”

Get a headstart on the topic by reading the full piece at http://dailybruin.com/2019/04/02/lecture-to-fuse-philosophical-ideas-with-chaucers-the-pardoners-tale/