Monday 5/23

I thought I'd write a little about the class I will be teaching. It will be a theme-based survey course of British Literature. The theme is "Arthurian Ideals in Later British Literature." Basically, it will look at a variety literary works that incorporate the ideals of chivalry, duty, honor, and nationalism, among others. Not all of the works will directly deal with these ideas, and in fact, some of them will look at the negatives of these ideas. Still, we will explore how these ideas are reflected in the English psyche, as reflected in the literature of the late 18th century through to the literature of today. We will be looking at works by Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, Tennyson, Eliot, Yeats, Thomas, Arnold, Houseman, Brooke, Owen, Rosenberg, Churchill, Tolkien, Hill, and Rowling.


Of course, since we will be in London, we will also be taking advantage of the unique opportunities that studying British Literature in England affords. That is, we will also be traveling to Winchester, England to visit the remains of the castle there. If you aren't aware of it, there is a huge Round Table hanging in the Great Hall. Winchester was also the capital city of one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon kings of England, King Alfred the Great. Many of the qualities attributed to the literary King Arthur were actually embodied in this great king.


We will also be looking at exhibits in many of London's museums and art galleries. Of course, since we will be reading selections from J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books, we will also be visiting many of the sites around London associated with the making of the Harry Potter films. In addition, as an extra bonus we will do our best to take some pictures of the Harry Potter movie stars as they attend the London premiere of the release of the last Harry Potter movie!