Literature Summer School
Term I: 7 – 20 July 2013
Term II: 21 July – 3 August 2013
Programme Director: Dr Fred Parker
The Literature Summer School attracts participants from all backgrounds, those who are already well-read in literature and those who are just starting out. The lively exchanges of views and poolings of experience make these brief, intense periods of study, exploration and debate an extraordinarily stimulating and enriching experience.
In all courses, expect to have texts open for continual reference, illustration and analysis: the discipline of close attention to the words on the page is fundamental to the classes.
Focus on: Literature
Dr Fred Parker talks about Practical Criticism at Cambridge. Read more...
Who should apply?
Students who have completed at least one year at an institute of higher education, or adults who bring other ‘life experience’. Some 55% of participants are current undergraduate or graduate students, 45% are aged 25-85+. Participants must also meet our language requirements.
How to apply
To apply for this programme, first select the courses you wish to study from the list below.
You can either book online or download an application form.
For more information about other Summer School programmes please visit:
www.ice.cam.ac.uk/intsummer/programmes.
The academic programme
- Plenary course GH0:
Crossing Frontiers - Four special subject courses
(two for each week) - Evening lectures
Special subject courses
The core of your programme will be your chosen special subject courses, each meeting five times. (Double courses meet ten times.) Classes allow for close and continuing discussion, and you will be expected to have done substantial preparatory reading before you arrive in Cambridge.
Term I: 7 - 20 July
Week 1 (7 - 13 July)
Group Ga: 9.15am - 10.45am
Ga1 Greek and Shakespearean tragedy
Ga3 Russian sin: Anna Karenina, Crime and Punishment, Lolita
Ga4 Adaptation and the Brontës
Group Ha: 2.00pm - 3.30pm
Ha1 Rubbing the lamp: writing short stories
Ha2 The emergence of Romanticism
Ha3 Philosophy of literature: understanding other minds through literary fiction
Ha4 An introduction to James Joyce’s Ulysses: text and context
Week 2 (14 - 20 July)
Group Gb: 9.15am - 10.45am
Gb1 Jane Austen I: Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park
Gb4 To ‘Make it New’: the Modernist revolution in literature from the 1890s to the 1920s
Group Hb: 2.00pm - 3.30pm
Hb3 Philosophy of literature: understanding other minds through literary fiction
Hb4 Slamming the bedroom door: rights and roles of women in the Victorian novel
Term II: 21 July - 3 August
Week 3 (21 - 27 July)
Group Gc: 9.15am - 10.45am
Gc1 Shakespeare’s strange last plays
Gc2 Jane Austen II: Emma and Persuasion
Group Hc: 2.00pm -3.30pm
Hc1 Romantic reverie: Wordsworth and Keats
Hc2 Hamlet: the play, its sources, its legacy
Hc4 What does it feel like to read this? I
Week 4 (28 July - 3 August)
Group Gd: 9.15am - 10.45am
Gd1 Ecocriticism: reading inside and out
Gd2 Dickens and the Victorian underworld: Great Expectations
Gd3 Shakespearean justice: Measure for Measure and King Lear
Group Hd: 2.00pm - 3.30pm
Hd2 Romantic poetry and science
Hd4 What does it feel like to read this? II
Plenary lectures
Daily plenary lectures by distinguished guest speakers, largely from within the University, draw on literature of many different kinds and periods. You will hear a rich variety of voices, and critical approaches. Plenary lectures bring fresh perspectives to familiar masterpieces and encourage exploration in new directions.
Evening lectures
Additional general lectures will add to your enjoyment of your stay.
A typical day
Download a PDF of the daily schedule of the Literature Summer School programme.
Accommodation
Accommodation is available for participants who want to stay in a Cambridge College. Please see the accommodation options available for this programme.
Non-residential attendance is also available if participants prefer to find their own lodgings.
Programme fees
Programme fees include tuition, bed, breakfast and evening meals unless otherwise indicated.
Download the fees page to see the options available.
Pre-enrolment information
Downloads
Contact us
University of Cambridge
International Programmes
Institute of Continuing Education
Madingley Hall
Madingley
Cambridgeshire
United Kingdom
CB23 8AQ
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 760850
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 760848
Email: intenq@ice.cam.ac.uk
Comments
Teaching and assessment 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 Summer Schools brochure download page.