Class Description
It may look like a novel, but Bleak House is really a variety show with a serious plot, and serial reading invites us to fully experience the many layers of this fascinating work. This class presents Charles Dickens’s masterpiece Bleak House in manageable weekly serial installments—with no spoilers. Our discussions of each week’s installment explore Dickens’s humor, social commentary, psychological depth, and dazzling assortment of narrative styles. Sessions are supplemented with slides and film clips.
Steven J. Venturino, PhD, the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism, has taught classes at the Newberry Library since 2015 and is a former Adjunct Professor of English at Loyola University Chicago.
Materials List
Order from the Newberry Bookshop!
Required
First Reading
- For the first session, please read only chapters 1-3. Please do not read the book’s introduction or preface.
Cost and Registration
8 sessions, $320 ($288 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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