For this activity you will need to do four things.

1) Read the Heiligenstadt Testament and be acquainted with Beethoven’s music. The Heiligenstadt Testament can be found at the bottom of this description.

2) Make one initial post by Friday, January 28 at 11:59 pm. For your initial post you will answer the following questions in three separate paragraphs:

• If Beethoven ultimately wants his deafness described publicly (“You my brothers Carl and [—–] as soon as I am dead if Dr. Schmid is still alive ask him in my name to describe my malady and attach this document to the history of my illness so that so far as possible at least the world may become reconciled with me after my death”), why did he seem paralyzed by the terror of discovery of his deafness while he was alive? If he genuinely believes that others will understand him and forgive him for his eccentricities and perhaps even his ill humor, why would he not want others to be informed as soon as possible?
• What do you think happened to Beethoven between October 6 and October 10 that might explain the difference in the two letters?
• Beethoven is often considered an inspirational figure for overcoming adversity during his life. What other historical figures would you compare to Beethoven in that respect? What did these individuals have in common that allowed them to do this?

Post your response by clicking on the the “Reply” button at the top of the introduction thread below. 

If you need to edit post for some reason, locate your post in the discussion thread and click on the three dots (upper right-hand corner of your post). You will see the Edit button. Select Edit, modify your post and click Save. 

3) Make two separate replies to other student’s posts before Monday, January 31 at 11:59 pm. In each reply:

• Choose one of the three answers to reply to for each post (choose a different answer for each post).
• Reply with a response that will engage the other student. It can be a statement of clarification or disagreement (though not a reposting of your original response), a thought-provoking question, or an example that supports or opposes that student’s viewpoint.
• Please try to select posts that do not have any replies, so we don’t have 10 replies for one post and none for another.

4) Make one final reply to a student’s post before Friday, February 4 at 11:59 pm.

• Students must respond to at least one reply to their original post (feel free to respond to more).