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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s lesson, we began our journey into Lincoln in the Bardo, thinking about first impressions and the unique historical and emotional foundations of the novel. We discussed what we liked and found challenging about the text and explored how Saunders blends fact with fiction, grief with the supernatural. We delved into the real-life context of the 1860s, especially in the context of the Civil War. We also examined the Tibetan concept of the “bardo” as a liminal space between life and death and considered how this shapes the novel’s atmosphere. The class engaged brilliantly with the novel today and with all the ideas we shared, particularly regarding Saunders’ guide to reading the novel. Great job everyone, it was so good to see you all and keep up the wonderful work
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s class we continued thinking about Lincoln in the Bardo, focusing on what the author has to say about themes from death to parenthood. We thought about the use of play-like structures as a form and discussed its effect. We then thought about the notion of a chorus, I.e., in Greek tragedy, and linked it back to the novel. Finally we looked at an interview where Saunders was discussing the message he was sending through this work and spoke about what we would ask him if we got the chance. Excellent work everyone, as eve,r you were all super engaged and really sharp. Well done and see you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s class we completed work on Lincoln in the Bardo, thinking about structure and inspiring creativity. We began by thinking about why Lincoln is the centre of the novel before dissecting Saunders’ reasoning behind inserting history and play script into his novel. The class thought of their own inventive structures beautifully, writing in these and thinking about how to portray a character’s thoughts in this process. We read an extract from the text, unpacking the way in which thoughts had been presented, before finally the class worked in small groups to come up with ideas for how to stage this novel as a play. Excellent and imaginative work everyone, very well done for your commitment to this story and your wonderful and vibrant work today. Keep it up and see you next week for A Taste of Honey 🙂
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Dear Beth,
Thank you so much for the interesting lessons on Lincoln in the Bardo!
I am looking forward to learning about A Taste of Honey!
See you soon!
Sincerely,
Yuexi
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s class we began our work on A Taste of Honey, working on the context of the play. We spoke about how we felt towards it, unpacking the way in which the play showcases life in the 1950s and themes such as motherhood, gender, race and being on the borders of society. The class researched the period, learned about kitchen sink and thought about what the life of the author tells us. Such brilliant work from the class today, particularly when thinking about the ways in which Delaney radically portrayed working class life. Keep up the amazing job everyone and see you next week 🙂
P.S. Sorry I am a little behind on your homework marking! Will all be uploaded tomorrow morning for sure 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s class we worked on characterisation in A Taste of Honey, thinking through all the character relationships and which were the most interesting. We spoke about what certain characters reveal about the time of the play and thought about their motivations and desires. We looked at questions such as if Jo was selfish, linking this to wider contextual considerations, and thought about themes such as motherhood. Excellent and insightful work everyone, very well done on your analysis of the way in which each character is failed by the system around them. Keep up the amazing work and well done 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s class we looked at A Taste of Honey for the last time, thinking about what it tells us more broadly about societal expectation and what happens to those on the borderlines. We looked at quotations, unpacking their meaning and significance, before focusing on the theme of drinking and what we found shocking within the play. We explored what people at the time may have thought of the morals on display and finally wrote some pieces based off this before reflecting on what we learned overall. Well done class, great work today that intricately unpicked the social dynamics of the time beautifully. Keep up the amazing job and see you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s class we thought about A Handmaid’s Tale, thinking about the context behind the novel and discussing our feelings on the book overall. The class shared some amazing ideas about how they felt about the book and thought about the context of the 1980s and what it tells us about Atwood’s aims. We spoke about totalitarianism and the ways in which the oppression of women often underpins these regimes, linking the ideas in the book to examples from history such as Nazi Germany. Very good work on a tricky and complex subject today class, well done for all your astute ideas and contributions. Very well done for coming up with some brilliant interpretations and see you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s class we thought about symbolism in the novel, unpacking Atwood’s presentation of her core themes. We looked at elements such as the colour red and the point of view employed, before discussing the epigraphs to the novel. We thought about their significance, researching the works they came from, and the class then did an excellent job of providing their own alternate epigraphs, which were really fantastic to hear. Very well done everyone, you all made some amazing points today that really got to the heart of the themes in this novel. Keep it up and see you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 9
Today we spoke about motherhood, womanhood and pregnancy in the novel, thinking about how this relates to wider themes of pro-natalism. The class did some research tasks thinking about the background themes of the novel and also conducted some excellent close analysis of a passage from the book. We thought about how this links into feminism’s broader concern with the body and thought about setting finally, reflecting on the connection between knowledge and power. Well done everyone, wonderful work today, keep up the brilliant ideas 🙂
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Hi Beth,
Sorry I couldn’t come to the lesson (I listened to the recording).
Here is my homework.
Yichen
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Summary for Lesson 12
In today’s class we completed our work on A Handmaid’s Tale, thinking about creative workings of the novel and about essay writing. The class planned out some excellent essays, using strong structures and arguments to help them write some fantastic literary introductions. They then pivoted to thinking creatively about the novel, using the idea of a shattered normality in the opening images of a story to come up with their own fantastic and unsettling plots. Very well done class! It is always so much fun discussing these novels with you and I really hope you enjoyed our classes together! You have been an absolute pleasure to teach, so very well done for all being so fab and I’ll see you in the summer course 🙂
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Hi Beth,
Thank you so much for this course! I think it was a very interesting variety of books, and they were all equally enjoyable to read and discuss.
Here is my homework.
Yichen
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