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English Literature

Shakespeare and Race

In this course, Professor Miles P. Grier (Queens College, CUNY) explores the issue of race in Shakespeare through the lens of the 'racial plot' – the idea that race is not so much an aspect of one's identity as a process that serves a particular...

4 lectures

0:35:24

Prof. Miles Grier

Queens College, CUNY

English Literature

Beckett: Waiting for Godot

In this course, Professor Andrew Gibson (Royal Holloway, London) explores Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. We begin by thinking about Beckett’s life, tracing his development as a man and a writer up to the outbreak of the Second World War...

6 lectures

0:50:00

Prof. Andrew Gibson

Royal Holloway, London

English Literature

Collins: The Moonstone

In this course, Dr Christopher Pittard (University of Portsmouth) explores Wilkie Collins' 1868 novel The Moonstone. The course begins with a general introduction to the novel and its status as one of the earliest detective novels in the English...

6 lectures

1:06:14

Dr Christopher Pittard

Portsmouth University

History

English Literature

Milton and the English Civil War: Cromwell

This course provides key historical context for John Milton's 'Paradise Lost', looking in particular at the figure of Oliver Cromwell. The course is divided into eight parts. The first looks at Cromwell's invasion of Ireland (1649-53), before...

8 lectures

0:50:51

Prof. Diane Purkiss

Oxford University

English Literature

Shakespeare: Julius Caesar

In this course, Professor John Roe (University of York) explores Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. We begin by thinking about the sources for the play, focusing in particular on the works of Plutarch, before moving on in the second module to give a...

8 lectures

1:04:22

Prof. John Roe

York University

English Literature

Twain: Huckleberry Finn

In this course, Professor Thomas Ruys Smith (University of East Anglia) explores Mark Twain's 1884/5 novel, Huckleberry Finn. In the first module, we think about the origins of Huckleberry Finn in Mark Twain's life and career up to 1884/5. In the...

5 lectures

0:59:59

Prof. Thomas Ruys Smith

University of East Anglia

English Literature

Dickens: Hard Times

In this course, Professor John Bowen (University of York) explores the concepts of philosophy and performance in Charles Dickens’ Hard Times. In particular, we consider the presentation of reason and rationality in the novel (as represented by Mr...

5 lectures

0:53:40

Prof. John Bowen

York University

English Literature

Gothic Literature and Race

In this course Dr Maisha Wester (University of Sheffield) explores Gothic literature through the lens of race. In the first module, we provide an introduction to the concepts of the gothic and the grotesque in literature and the arts, before...

7 lectures

1:04:01

Dr Maisha Wester

Sheffield University

English Literature

Marlowe: Edward II

In this course, Professor Lisa Hopkins (Sheffield Hallam University) explores Christopher Marlowe's final play, Edward II. We begin by thinking about the theme of homosexuality in the play, arguing that while the relationship between Edward and...

5 lectures

0:49:19

Prof. Lisa Hopkins

Sheffield Hallam University

English Literature

Hemingway: A Farewell to Arms

In this course, Professor Peter Messent explores Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel, A Farewell to Arms. We begin in the first module by thinking about the way Hemingway reacts in his language to the sensationalism and empty sloganeering of Allied...

5 lectures

0:56:30

Prof. Peter Messent

Nottingham University

English Literature

18th-Century Literature

In this module, Dr James Smith (Royal Holloway, London) provides an introduction to the literature of the 18th century. The course begins by exploring what writers of the 18th century thought about writing itself, focusing in particular on...

6 lectures

1:19:45

Dr James Smith

Royal Holloway, London

English Literature

The Poetry of Emily Dickinson

In this course, Dr Páraic Finnerty (University of Portsmouth) explores the poetry Emily Dickinson. In the first module, we think about the figure of the poet herself, exploring some of the reasons why Dickinson refused to play the role of...

6 lectures

0:52:25

Dr Páraic Finnerty

Portsmouth University

English Literature

Shakespeare: Titus Andronicus

In Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's first tragedy, the fragmentation of sacrificed and mutilated bodies gives rise to a polyphony of dismemberment. Over the course of these six lectures, Andrew Zurcher explores how Shakespeare figures the...

6 lectures

1:23:22

Dr Andrew Zurcher

Cambridge University

English Literature

The Poetry and Prose of Seamus Heaney

The American poet Robert Lowell described Seamus Heaney as the greatest Irish poet since W. B. Yeats, and many noted the coincidence that Heaney was born in the year that Yeats died. A Nobel prize winner and Ireland's unofficial national...

8 lectures

1:37:33

Dr Rosie Lavan

Trinity College, Dublin

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