Welcome to SPACE, our adult continuing education program which offers interactive monthly courses for personal enrichment! Learn more here.
Mixed Lecture/Discussion
•
Medium intensity
This class needs more votes by November 1 to get confirmed.
This module is a standing candidate which means it will be ready to launch as soon as it gets enough interest. Token holders can set aside a Token to reserve their seat for this candidate and help it get confirmed.
This course offers an in-depth look at the first complete “historical” narrative of the reign of King Arthur, Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae. Almost a quarter of the total work, this crucial first account of Arthur includes Arthur’s magically-contrived conception, his conquest of Rome, and his overthrown and death at the hands of his nephew Mordred. This course also looks at the “battle of books” that followed in the wake of Geoffrey’s work, with some contemporaries arguing that Geoffrey simply made the whole thing up, and others rallying to Geoffrey’s (and Arthur’s) defense.
The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:
The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:
| Outline | 8-Session Structure |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Lecture 1: The “Historical” Arthur before Geoffrey |
| Discussion 1: HRB, Prologue and Book VI: Britain in Chaos | |
| Week 2 | Lecture 2: Merlin the Historian: Prophesy as History and Vice-Versa |
| Discussion 2: HRB, Book VIII: Death of a Tyrant; The Birth of a Hero | |
| Week 3 | Lecture 3: The Anarchy of Stephen: The Politics of Geoffrey’s Early Readership |
| Discussion 3: HRB, Books IV – X: The Rise and Fall of King Arthur | |
| Week 4 | Lecture 4: The Battle of the Books: Geoffrey’s Contested History |
| Discussion 4: HRB, Books XI – XII: Goodbye Britain, Hello England! |
Required Texts
Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain (recommended: Penguin edition, trans. Lewis Thorpe—but any edition is ok!) ----
Optional: The History of the Kings of Britain (Boydell Press dual language edition, transl. Neil Wright).
Optional: The History of the Kings of Britain (Boydell Press dual language edition, transl. Neil Wright).
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This will be a Hybrid class (4 lectures & 4 discussion sessions). Each week will consist of 1 hour of recorded lecture and 1 hour of live discussion (not recorded) for a total of 8 class hours over the course of the month.
Delivery Plan
1. The first session each week will be a pre-recorded lecture sent to students at least 2 days before the live discussion session.
2. The second session each week will be a live discussion session (not recorded).
Delivery Plan
1. The first session each week will be a pre-recorded lecture sent to students at least 2 days before the live discussion session.
2. The second session each week will be a live discussion session (not recorded).
Days and Times
As soon as we obtain enough interest in this class we will be in touch to work out a meeting time that works for the group. Thank you for keeping your December 2025 availability up to date!