Interdisciplinary Deep Reads: Using 1 Classic Novel to Self-Study Multiple Humanities

Plus a syllabus for using War and Peace to self-study literature, history, philosophy, and more.

“An entire course devoted to a single novel? How can there be enough material to fill 24 lectures? That seems absurd.”

Those were my thoughts whenever I saw college courses like UPenn’s “Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace and the Napoleonic Wars” (taught by Peter Holquist).

But I was naive. I hadn’t studied much literature. I hadn’t experienced the interrelatedness of the humanities.

I was not aware that a single great novel, read deeply and attacked from many angles, could serve as a gateway to a wide-ranging exploration of not only literature, but of history, art, culture, society, philosophy, and other subjects.

Take the novel War and Peace, for example.

The book’s story, style, and insights alone could provide an inspired teacher with enough material to fill hundreds of lectures.

However, studying only the literary aspects of the novel would just be scratching the surface.

Like a sprawling European city, the novel contains hundreds of avenues that, if explored, will educate you in other important and fascinating topics, from Tolstoy's theory of history to what it was like to fight in 19th century battles.

Turning War and Peace into an interdisciplinary DIY course

With the help of supporting literature like online lectures, history books, and philosophical treatises, a curious autodidact could use War and Peace to self-learn the following topics:

• The history of Russia and France during the Napoleonic Wars

• The history of Russia when the book was written (emancipation of serfs, industrialization, etc.,)

• The lives of Napoleon and Alexander I

• Tolstoy's philosophy of history and other theories that support/challenge it

• The role of the historian in society (or, what is the purpose of history?)

• The life of a Russian peasant or aristocrat

• The social structure of early 19th century Russia

• The consequences of the French Revolution (and how it led to Napoleon)

To illustrate this in more detailed terms, here’s a basic DIY syllabus I’ve created that transforms the classic novel War and Peace into an interdisciplinary humanities course:

War and Peace: A Deep Reading Syllabus

Core Text

• War and Peace, Anthony Briggs

Intro Lectures

• Lecture: Ben Mcevoy, How to Read War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy

• Documentary: The Life of Leo Tolstoy (so fascinating!)

Historical and Cultural Context (1860s Russia, when it was written)

• Essay: Emancipation of Serfs, 1861

• Essay: The Russian Realist Movement

History of Napoleonic Wars

• Book: Defeat: Napoleon's Russian Campaign (assigned reading in UPenn’s War and Peace course)

Russian History

• Documentary "Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia"

• Book: The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes

Literary Analysis/Criticism

• Book: Give War and Peace a Chance (argument for why War and Peace is highly relevant)

• Interview: Sir Niall Ferguson: War and Peace

• Essay: Consciousness, Memory, and History in War and Peace

• Essay: James Wood on War and Peace

Philosophy of History

• Book: What is History? Edward Hallet Carr

• Book: The Historian’s Craft, Marc Bloch

• Video: How Tolstoy Challenges Historians

Create your own interdisciplinary deep reading project

Do you have a favorite novel you’d like to get to know on a deeper level?

Consider building a DIY course around it, as I’ve done for War and Peace.

Circling the text in this way will not only provide you with a well-rounded education in the humanities. It will also help you more deeply appreciate the novel itself, because understanding leads to appreciation.

Such a deep reading project is relatively large, with a lot of materials, so it might be worth creating a 12-week self-education plan to improve follow through.

You could also go about it more loosely, reading the core text and, whenever something interests you, following that rabbit hole. For example, the opening scene of War and Peace might spark an interest in the high society of the Russian aristocracy. If that’s the case, you could find articles and books about this topic.

Regardless of how you structure your studies, always pay attention to your curiosity and feed it. That’s how you become who you are meant to be.

Self-studying classic novels

I’m currently working on an ultimate guide meant to help you self-study classic novels. There, I’ll expand on this deep reading approach and show you how to create your own DIY courses around a single novel. Stay tuned. And thanks for reading!