Online Courses in Literature
Shiver with terror in a dark graveyard; fit your gas mask in an ecstasy of fumbling; press down slivers of rusty meat at Lowood School; discover Lady Audley’s dreadful secret; spend a day in turn-of-the-century Dublin. Reading – the world in your hands.
Reading is more readily and easily available now than ever: browse a library; go into a bookshop; click on an internet site… The treasury of literature opens to you. But do you see a sweet-shop window before your, or a minefield? Are the choices exciting, or daunting? Would you like some help in finding and choosing and in getting the most from literary texts? Studying English literature in a short online course will help you to do just that. These courses can help you to acquire skills of close critical analysis and the knowledge and understanding of context that will enable you to study, write about, appreciate, and above all enjoy literary texts.
Ancestral Voices: the earliest English Literature
Old English literature isn't all about battles and boozing: find out more... Find out more about this course
Brontës
How did three sisters living an apparently secluded and eventless life write some of the most original, passionate and dramatic novels and poetry in the English language? Find out more about this course
Contemporary British Fiction
This course is for you if: you enjoy reading and discussing novels; you belong to a book club or reading group; you read reviews of fiction, you have opinions and ideas about novels; if you have ever thought ‘so many books, so little time’, and wondered how to decide which authors to try; if you have ever been daunted by terms such as ‘modernism’, ‘magic realism’ or ‘postmodern’ - and if you would like to: take your enjoyment and appreciation of fiction to the next stage; develop your ideas into coherent, backed-up analytical arguments; have technical terms demystified. Find out more about this course
Critical Reading
Learn to analyse, write about, appreciate, and above all enjoy literary texts. Find out more about this course
Jane Austen
There's more to Austen than bonnets and romance. Much more. Find out more about this course
Literary Theory
Literary theory has changed the way we think about literature, language, identity, and society. Although theory might sometimes seem intimidating, it can be very accessible and exciting. This course aims to demystify literary theory, showing how it illuminates literary texts and enriches our understanding and enjoyment of literature. Find out more about this course
Nineteenth Century European Literature
Nineteenth- century literature was diverse, exciting and mobile; literary movements were not restricted to single countries, but developed through crossing linguistic and geographic boundaries. This course is for anyone who is interested in nineteenth-century literature and society, and will also appeal to anyone who would like to gain a greater sense of how literature transformed throughout the nineteenth century.Find out more about this course
Shakespeare
If you associate Shakespeare with the dull grind of school, prepare to think again! Find out more about this course
The Modern American Novel
Some of the most wonderful fiction in English is by American writers. In this course we shall study five key novels of the twentieth century – by Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Silko, Morrison and Roth – that constitute contrasting interpretations of American experience in the modern age.Find out more about this course
Trollope, Eliot, Hardy and Dickens: Reading Victorian Fiction
Madness, hilarity, doubt and devotion...Find out more about this course