Start Date
28 January, 2025
There will be 10 weekly meetings on Tuesday, 11am - 1pm, starting from 28 January.
Overview
Classical myths retold and re-fashioned by contemporary writers are the focus of this course. We shall discuss Ali Smith’s re-working of Ovid in Girl Meets Boy, Margaret Atwood’s retelling of The Odyssey in The Penelopiad and Pat Barker’s re-writing of The Iliad in The Silence of the Girls. The idea of monstrosity is explored in Natalie Haynes comic reading of the Medusa myth, Stone Blind. In Kate Atkinson’s Not the End of the World, mythical figures influence everyday life and in Claire Pollard’s lockdown novel, Delphi, a classical scholar searches for ways to read the future. The texts, diverse in form and tone, attest to the lasting power of mythology and the importance to any tale of whoever tells the story.
This course will explore how contemporary writers have re-framed and re-used classical myths. The course would appeal to anyone interested in reading contemporary fiction. No prior knowledge is required. Contextual material will be provided before seminars.
Syllabus
Week 1: Introduction. Kate Atkinson, Not the End of the World
Week 2: Kate Atkinson, Not the End of the World
Week 3: Ali Smith, Girl Meet Boy
Week 4: Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad
Week 5: Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad
Week 6: Pat Barker, The Silence of the Girls
Week 7: Pat Barker, The Silence of the Girls
Week 8: Natalie Haynes, Stone Blind
Week 9: Natalie Haynes, Stone Blind
Week 10: Claire Pollard, Delphi
Please note that the ‘last date available to book’ date is only a guide. We reserve the right to close bookings earlier if courses are over- or under-subscribed. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure enrol as soon as possible. Registrations will not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm.
Course Lecturer: Dr Shirley Jones
At Continuing Education, I currently run courses on contemporary women's writing, nineteenth-century writing, and the thematic strand, The Monthly Novel. Previously I have also taught courses on classic authors, such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Dorothy Wordsworth. My Ph.D was a study of the Victorian writer, Margaret Oliphant.
Outside of Continuing Education, I am a member of a writers' group and I run community writing workshops at the VG&M and the Lowlands centre in West Derby,
Courses fees: Full fee £155/Concession £80.
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