George Eliot is considered one of the most intellectually stimulating and interesting writers of the Victorian period. This course will look at two of her novels, the early novel Adam Bede (1859) and Silas Marner (1861). This course will consider the literary contexts of the novels and author's depiction of rural society, religion and community. This course is a fully online with no physical meeting space, accessing the course through Canvas our virtual learning environment and zoom a video conferencing software.
Course aim
This 6 week course will study two of George Eliot's novels - Adam Bede and Silas Marner.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- You will need your own personal email address so that you’re able to login to the WEA’s digital learning platform: WEA Canvas. You will need to be able to understand how to follow URL links to pages on the internet. If you want to understand more about Canvas please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- You will need to be able to follow links to join our WEA live video learning platform: WEA Zoom. If you’d like to understand more about our video learning platform, Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline and http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- This course is for a group of around 15 students studying in a live video-learning platform conference and an online digital learning environment platform from the comfort of your own home.
- This course is suitable for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- understand these rich and complex novels.
- consider the social and political context of these novels.
- discuss literary techniques used by the author.
- consider the novel in the context of mid-VIctorian literature.
- participate in group discussion.
How will I be taught?
- The WEA tutor will use a range of different teaching and learning methods and encourage you and the group to be actively involved in your learning
What kind of feedback can I expect?
- A range of informal activities will be used by the tutor to see what you are learning which may include quizzes, question and answer, small projects and discussion
What else do I need to know?
- What you need: You will need an internet connection, speakers, a microphone and a webcam so that you can use our video learning platform, Zoom. If you’d like to understand more Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- You will need a personal email address to join the WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas so that you can receive resources, record your progress and achievement and to work with others and share ideas. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
Pre-course work, reading and information sources
- Students will find it useful to commence reading of these texts in advance of the course starting. The first text we will look at will be Adam Bede and then we will move on to Silas Marner.
What can I do next?
- Progress to another WEA course
- Access the WEA What Next? booklet here http://www.wea.org.uk/learn-wea/what-can-i-do-next
Download full course information sheet
Literature: Eliot's Adam Bede and Silas Marner - With Dr Greta Depledge
