English Nonsense
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Before universal literacy, entertainment was conducted orally. The products of the oral tradition (both risky and risqué)-- nursery rhymes, ballads, riddles and fables – are now regarded as fare for children only and many are classified as Nonsense. We shall examine this early entertainment, as well as explore the work of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll who in 19th century invented Nonsense for children, and view a video of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which restored the genre for adults in the 20th century.
Course Programme
Friday 11 May 2012
Please plan to arrive between 4:30 and 6:30. You can meet other course members in the bar which opens at 6:15. Tea and Coffee making facilities are available in the study bedrooms.
19:15 Dinner
20:30 Introduction to the Oral Tradition and Aesop’s Fables
22:00 Terrace bar open for informal discussion
Saturday 12 May 2012
08:00 Breakfast
09:00 History, Origin and Interpretation of Nursery Rhymes
10:30 Coffee
11:00 Medieval Ballads (comparisons between English and Scottish ballads)
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Free
16:00 Tea
16:30 Riddles/Children’s Playground Rhymes and Nonsense for Adults (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods)
19:15 Dinner
20:30 The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (video and discussion)
22:00 Terrace bar open for informal discussion
Sunday 13 May 2012
08:00 Breakfast
09:00 Edward Lear’s Life and Nonsense Verse
10:30 Coffee
11:00 Lewis Carroll’s Life and the two Alice books.
13:00 Lunch
The course will disperse after lunch
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Unless otherwise stated, teaching and assessment for ICE courses is in English. Students for whom English is not their first language should refer to the Competence in the English Language Policy for further guidance.
Printable versions of our brochures are available to download from the Institute Publications page.
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Register interest
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Write to us
Registration TeamMadingley Hall
Madingley
Cambridge
Cambridgeshire
United Kingdom
CB23 8AQ
Call us
01223 746262
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Course details
Start date
11 May 2012 (19:15)
End date
13 May 2012 (13:00)
Course code
1112NRX155
Duration
1 weekend
Venue
Institute of Continuing Education
University of Cambridge
Madingley Hall, Madingley
Cambridge
Cambridgeshire
United Kingdom
CB23 8AQ
Accommodation fees
Single room: £110
Double/Twin room (per person, 2 people sharing): £90
Qualifications / Credits
Non-accredited