- This topic has 106 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated July 23, 2024 by
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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s class we began our study of Middlemarch, focusing for now on the history and context of the story. We began by thinking about George Eliot and her work, digging into how understanding her as a person is crucial to understanding the wider story. We spoke about the context of both the 1830s and 1870s, delving into the deep differences between these periods, and the class learned about the history of the novel. Finally we engaged with the idea that this is a story deeply rooted in place and time, thinking about the implications of this on the novel as a work on social anthropology. Amazing and insightful work today everyone, well done and keep going with your fab work 🙂
Homework video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f9vp7IDzMA
Homework
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s class we thought about the underlying structures that Middlemarch depends upon, working on the concept of a web and thinking about what this tells us about the story. We began by discussing the homework video, thinking about the role of history in the story, before discussing our feelings on the book overall. We thought deeply about class in the story and how themes such as money and religion are treated before the students completed a group discussion exercise on the web of society in Middlemarch and how secrets, money and marriage bind it together. Really wonderful work today everyone on some complex and thorny issues- you all did fantastically today! Keep up the great work, see you next time 🙂
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thanks so much for the lesson!
Please find my homework attached below,
have a nice day 🙂
Yuexi
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s class we continued our work on Middlemarch, thinking about the moral framework Eliot creates throughout the story. We began by reading an essay on morality in the novel and discussing it before the class moved on to some excellent group work analysing quotations in pairs and thinking about their moral import in relation to Eliot’s worldview. We unpicked a quotation as a class, sharing ideas on what it reveals about Eliot’s ideas on moral behavior and philosophy and finally touched on the homework. Excellent and really exhilarating work today everyone- I was so impressed by your group presentations and thought they showed great dexterity and intelligence. Amazing work, keep it up and see you next week 🙂
P.S. Homework essay is attached below
Quotes bank: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1461747-middlemarch-a-study-of-provincial-life
Morality essay: https://rohanmaitzen.com/research/open-letters-monthly-archive/the-morality-of-middlemarch/
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thanks for the amazing lesson! Sorry I missed so much of it, but I enjoyed everything I did.
Here is my homework.
Yichen
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Dear Beth,
I apologiese for not submitting earlier, my brain is so bad at rmembering! Thanks for the awesome lesson 😉 Uploaded.
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s class we continued work on Middlemarch thinking about character. We began by discussing whether there are any characters Eliot either entirely approves or disapproves of before thinking about the delayed gratification Eliot employs to keep her characters from achieving their goals. The class wrote some excellent diary entries drawing on ideas around gender and motivation in the novel before finally reading an article examining the Jamesian idea that Middlemarch is simultaneously one of the best and worst novels ever written. Amazing work today everyone, particularly with the creative writing and character creation you completed off the back of this. Really well done- great ideas from everyone, keep up the brilliant work 🙂
Middlemarch article we read: https://scroll.in/article/877966/why-im-still-reading-a-fat-novel-middlemarch-two-years-after-i-began-i-may-not-even-finish-it
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thanks for the extremely fun lesson. I loved the creative bit with the diary entries!
Here is my homework.
Yichen
PS. I forgot if I should refer to the characters in present or past tense! 😉
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s class we spoke about plot and structure, outlining the way Eliot deals with narrative in Middlemarch. We began by thinking about comedy in the novel before going through the web-like structures of the novel, mapping these out in abstract and interesting ways through the use of diagrams and then thinking about how Eliot draws patterns and shifts between plots. We discussed the narrative voice, and the class completed some really impressive group work on the name of the novel, coming up with excellent analyses of Eliot’s choice with multiple interesting angles, and also creating their own names for the book in pairs. They shared beautifully on this, all speaking with great imaginative fervour and energy. Super work everyone- I can’t wait to see what you come up with next week! 🙂
Homework article: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/empathy-the-life-lesson-of-george-eliot-s-middlemarch-1.6410193
Homework
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s class we completed our work on Middlemarch with some creative reimaginings of Eliot’s novel. We began with an overview of the way Eliot creates webs of characters and symbolism before the class planned out some of their own ideas for a 21st-century rendition of the book. The class then learned about some of the most famous final paragraphs in literature before coming up with their own, inspired by Eliot’s closing lines. Finally we discussed the concept of Middlemarch the place as either restrictive or enabling and shared final thoughts on how Eliot discusses social structures. Really amazing work everyone, I can’t wait to read your first pages which I am sure will be absolutely brilliant. Keep up the great job you are all doing and see you next week 🙂
Video from today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7hPizrOx4Y
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Reading Middlemarch was def. nformative, even though the book itself finda disappointed me. Thank you so much for the awesome class!
🍻
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Dear Beth,
Thanks so much for the wonderful lesson!
Please find my homework attached below,
have a nice evening!
Yuexi
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Dear Beth,
Sorry that I missed the lesson, and definitely great apologies for submitting the homework one week late! Here it is now 😊
Yichen
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s class we began Don Quixote thinking about the historical context of Spain and its Empire. We discussed the novel, thinking about how meta and satirical it is, before learning about the context of Spain in the 17th century. We discussed religion in the period alongside social class and the feudalistic system the Spanish imposed, thinking about factors such as the Spanish Inquisition and how it bred a culture of fear. Lastly, the class researched Cervantes considering what his background tells us about the novel. Really excellent work today everyone- this is a huge and complex book and you analysed it beautifully, linking it to the history in various creative and fascinating ways.
Homework links:
•https://hub.jhu.edu/2016/09/29/egginton-cervantes-29sept2016/
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmcKS47BsAo
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrRfGMCw8V4Homework
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Oops, posted early but meant to say well done and keep up the wonderful approach to the history of this book at the end of the summary there 🙂
Here are the video links from today:
Crash course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjhIzemLdos
Spanish history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Otap-778QM
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@Pro-Don-Quixote-Team: here’s the link to the overall arguement doc! any new thoughts pls write down somewhere and we can re-collect next week! Happy Tuesday~
Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M1GbPXuHiUc-ubDBSDY082LUVRL0GQxHmafis_gkMWk/edit?usp=sharing
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Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s class we continued Don Quixote, thinking about chivalry and knights errant. We discussed the way in which Cervantes satirises this and thought about how this links to larger themes of religion and madness in the novel. We discussed the purpose of the knight-errant myth in Europe and connected this to historical events such as the Crusades. The class then held one half of a debate we will finish next lesson. Well done today everyone, you were all fantastically tuned in and shared some great thoughts on the hypocrisy behind the chivalric code according to Cervantes. It was great to see you all today and I hope you enjoyed- well done 🙂
Ted-ed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDUPu6tMWHY&t=41s
Homework
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Hi Beth!
Thank you so much for the amazing lesson!
I find it a little difficult to include quotations in my answers which are analysing an entire book, as I am unsure about how I should look for and select the quotes. Is there a technique I can use for picking out quotes from an entire novel? Thank you!
-Eva
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Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s class we continued learning Don Quixote, thinking about character and morality in the story. We began with the trial of Don Quixote’s character we began last lesson with the class masterfully debating key ideas about how to interpret his character and presenting in ways that were confident and eloquent- well done everyone! We then spoke about the women in the novel, particular Dulcinea and what she represents. The class shared wonderfully, thinking about the symbolic significance of her character, and then applied this to broader ideas on how women were treated at the time. Finally we read an essay on the topic. Well done everyone, you were all astute and attentive today, coming up with great points throughout- see you next week 🙂
Homework
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Here is the essay link for the hero or extremist debate: https://www.spainthenandnow.com/spanish-literature/don-quixote-hero-or-religious-extremist#:~:text=Don%20Quixote%20obeys%20the%20same,)%2C%20doing%20his%20Christian%20duty.
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Dear Beth,
Ok, so now I NEED to find some windmills to charge at… anyway, thanks for the engaging lesson! HW uploaded.
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the lovely lesson! Here is my homework.
Yichen
(My attempts at Spanish:
Don Quixote y su squire Sancho Panza no son scared de giants grandes.
Meaning: Don Quixote and his squire are not scared of the big giants. 😉)
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Oops, I just realised after a quick google search that my spanish was completely wrong! Never mind… 🤭
Again, thank you for the lesson. 😊💖
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Dear Beth,
I am very sorry for the lateness of my homework.
Thanks so much for the amazing lesson!
Please find my homework attached below,
Have a great evening 🙂
Yuexi
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Summary for Lesson 10
In today’s class we continued Don Quixote, thinking about character, literature and false histories. We began with group discussions of character, thinking about how the characters in this novel reflect its unconventional nature. We then thought about the way Cervantes frames his story as a real tale and thought about how this relates to the history behind the book and the wider themes. Finally the class discussed some philosophical questions linked to the deeper framework Cervantes was working from, sharing with the rest of the class. Really brilliant teamwork everyone, I was so impressed by the strength of your answers. See you next week & well done 🙂
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the lesson! Sorry I wasn’t available at that time but I listened to the recording.
Yichen
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Dear Beth,
I was so busy being blanket-tossed this week that I it slipped my mind to write that I uploaded the homework, haha 🙂 Thanks for the dazzling lesson! HW uploaded -
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Summary for Lesson 11
In today’s class we continued Don Quixote, thinking about metanarratives and perspective. We spoke about Cervantes as the founder of modernity in literature, looking at how this linked to narrative voice and how the meta-fictional nature of the narrative underpins the entire story. We discussed what metafiction means and how it is used in this novel, thinking about what would change if the perspective changed. We finally looked at Dali’s interpretation of the novel in his surrealist art, using this as a conduit to think about the ideas we had discussed throughout class on metanarrative and fantasy vs. reality. Incredible, in-depth and fascinating ideas today everyone- I really enjoyed hearing them! Keep up the amazing work and well done 🙂
Homework
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Hi Beth!
Sorry I was not able to make it to the lesson. But thank you so much for the amazing lesson!
-Eva
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the truly enjoyable lesson 🙂
Here is my homework.
Yichen
PS. One quick question which is: do we have to include quotes, because it is quite hard to find fully-fletched quotes in such a big volume quickly. I have bookmarked some important bits, but they aren’t always relevant. Thank you
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Dear Beth,
HW uplaoded! Apologies for the late submit – I totally forgot to write a notice here 😅
Thanks for the terrific lesson! Looking forewards to today 🙌
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Summary for Lesson 12
In today’s class we completed work on Don Quixote and on our spring reading course. We looked at adaptations of the novel, thinking about how authors such as Graham Greene have updated key elements of the story whilst retaining its focus on idealism and belief. The class planned their own versions of modern Don Quixote narratives, thought about why this book has remained popular, and considered how we are changed by the things we read. Excellent, insightful and creative work over this course everyone- you have dived into some of the most complex novels we have done yet and have come up with brilliant thoughts throughout. Very impressive as ever and I can’t wait for next course! Congratulations everyone 🙂
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thank you so much for all the lessons in this course. I really enjoyed reading Don Quixote, and these were new insights into books that I had not come across before, especially Don Quixote. Here is my homework 🙂
Yichen
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