Welcome to SPACE, our adult continuing education program which offers interactive monthly courses for personal enrichment! Learn more here.

Discussion-based • Medium intensity

If you’re interested in this course...

What did the creators of Middle-earth, Narnia, a philosophy of consciousness, and spiritual shockers have in common? Answer: they were all part of a group called The Inklings who met in Oxford between the 1930s and 60s to discuss their ideas and work.

We will spend a week on each of the four main members of The Inklings, discussing samples of their work and the ways their imaginations and ideas overlapped. By the end of the course, we will understand how this group of writers influenced each other and helped create the genre of fantasy literature.

Required Texts

There are no required texts for this module; samples will be provided, but recommended texts will be:

• Humphrey Carpenter (1978) The Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their Friends
• C.S. Lewis (1950-56) The Chronicles of Narnia
• J.R.R. Tolkien (1954-55) The Lord of the Rings
• Owen Barfield (1925) (first edition) 2025 (new edition) The Silver Trumpet
• Charles Williams (1930) War in Heaven
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December 2025  Candidate