Main themes

The contents of the seminars depends on the research carried out in the department. A complete list of the seminars organized by the Faculty can be obtained at the beginning of the academic year.

Content and teaching methods

"From Hagar to Hagrid: Faith, Despair and Indifference in English Poetry and Prose"
This seminar deals with literary texts in the English language from the perspective of biblical figures and themes. First we meet the unconventional epic hero King David as he appears in the King James Bible. Next comes an exploration of the spiritual questioning that is characteristic of the Modern Age. The texts on which this analysis is based are, among others, poems by John Donne, dissident writers of World War I, T.S. Eliot (The Waste Land), and the famous novel by Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, of which we also study the film adaptation starring Jeremy Irons. Special attention is paid to the way in which biblical themes and images survive in our own day and age (for instance, in figures of redemption in Harry Potter). The students analyse and present a text of their own choice.

Other credits in programs