Description

Combination of our literature mini-class and webinar recordings including:

An Introduction to Russian Literature Mini-Class by Thomas Banks

The writings of the great 19th century Russian masters are among the richest in the literature of the world. The personal and political dramas, the skepticisms and struggles, beliefs and fanaticisms that gave life to the Russian world of that era are all richly presented in the works of Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Gogol and their peers. This course will begin with a brief history of the growth of Russian literature in the last full century of Tsarist rule, including a descriptive sketch of Russian society itself, before we open up the works of three of the period’s greatest authors of fiction: Gogol, the Ukrainian-born surreal humorist turned monkish ascetic; Turgenev, the progressive and forward-looking man of the world; and perhaps the greatest of all, Dostoevsky, the onetime revolutionary who would become the voice of traditionalist Russia, Tsarist and Orthodox, and a prophet of the coming century, with its new ideals and hatreds, and its new and frightening gods.

Beowulf Mini-Class by Angelina Stanford

Learn how to read Beowulf like the original audience! Discover the historical and literary background of the work, and watch the work open up for you. Find out the answer to the question: Is this work Christian or pagan?

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Mini-Class by Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks

With the approach of Advent, it’s the perfect time to explore Charles Dickens’ classic tale of selfishness and redemption and the Christmas spirit. Drawing on her expertise in Victorian literature, folklore, and mythology, Angelina Stanford will reveal the story’s background in Medieval allegory and fairy tale. Mr. Banks will provide the social, political, philosophical, and economic background. Together they will guide you into this poignant tale of the dangers of Modernism and a call to recover the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.

Classical Drama: Three Greek Plays Mini-Class by Thomas Banks

The plays of the ancient Greeks are the first great examples of dramatic literature known to us, and the reading of them is a lasting pleasure and profit to the mind. Thomas Banks hopes that you will join him this coming June when he will teach and interpret Sophocles’ Ajax, Euripides’ Alcestis, and Aristophanes’ The Clouds, describing along the way the religious origins of Greek drama, the achievements of the Athenian tragic and comic poets, and the place of their works in the spiritual context of their age.

How to Read Fairy Tales Mini-Class by Angelina Stanford

Fairy tales are universal. We find them in every time and in every culture. For as long as there have been words, people have been telling these stories. Why?

Why do we tell these stories? Why do we share these stories with our children? What is the relationship between fairy tales and great literature? What is the difference between folktales and literary fairy tales? What is the difference between a fairy tale and a cautionary tale? What is the difference between Perrault and Lang and Grimm and Anderson? Why did the Grimm Brothers think it was their Christian duty to collect these tales? But most importantly, HOW do we read these tales of wonder, delight, violence, and weirdness. Discover how the oldest stories are connected to The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Join Angelina Stanford for an in-depth look at Fairy Tales.  When you learn HOW to read fairy tales, you will understand WHY you should read them too. Even if you have heard her talk about fairy tales before, this will be her MOST IN-DEPTH discussion ever!

Mirror, Mirror: Reflections of the Gospel in Snow White Webinar by Angelina Stanford

Learn what a fairy tale is, how to read one, and how to find the Gospel in every story.

The Fable Webinar by Thomas Banks

People have written stories about animals for nearly as long as we have written stories about ourselves. From the fables of Aesop to the folk tales of Joel Chandler Harris, tales of four-footed tricksters and furry fools have found a permanent place in the literature of several civilizations. Join Classicist Thomas Banks to learn more about the history of the form and the authors who have developed it.

Western Films and Western Fiction Webinar by Thomas Banks and James Banks

America does not have any story form comparable to the Homeric Epic, the Norse Saga or the Arthurian Romance. But it does have the Western. Join James and Thomas Banks on Monday November 22nd to learn about the special place of the classic Western in the American canon of literature and film, and in the American national consciousness.