From Literature to Film: Three Women’s Novels on Screen
This course examines three novels written by women and the way they have been adapted for the cinema or TV. We shall explore the transition from book to film and will evaluate both media, examining their capabilities and limitations. The novels to be discussed are Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca.
Fantasy Worlds from William Blake to Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This course explores the development of the fantasy genre by concentrating on personal mythologies, utopias and the construction of alternative worlds. We will start with William Blake and William Morris, progressing through writers such as J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and ending with modern film and TV fantasy worlds such as that of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
A Variety of Literature (taught together with Dr Ian Spring) - Porthcawl
This course consists of a close reading of four works of literature, each from a different country of the Birtish Isles: Alasdair Gray's Lanark (Scotland), Christina Rossetti's The Complete Poems (England), Arthur Machen's The Great God Pan (Wales) and John Millington Synge's The Playboy of the Western World (Ireland).
Literature, Tradition and Mythology (five linked Day Schools)
Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again
This on-line course will examine Tolkien's awareness of northern European mythologies and languages as well as other aspects of his scholarly background, such as anthropology and archaeology. We shall also explore how he used these creatively in his fiction, mainly The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
The course runs three times during the academic year 2007-2008: