English 24

Book List

Atwood, Margaret: The Handmaid's Tale

Description

In concert with the selection of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale for the campus's 2018 On the Same Page program, this seminar will offer a closer look at this award-winning 1985 novel and the award-winning Hulu television series that first aired in 2017, with a second season released in spring 2018. What made this such a powerful novel in its own moment? And why do its reverberations continue to be felt so powerfully today? We will read some of the journalistic think pieces about the TV series and, if we have time, we may explore one or more of the previous adaptations of Atwood's novel for radio, opera, ballet, film, and a concept album by indie band Lakes of Canada. Seminar members will participate through lively in-class discussion, weekly bCourses posts, conversation starters, and culminating creative response projects in a medium of your choice.

The class will meet weekly for the first seven weeks of the semester (August 28 to October 9).

This 1-unit course may not be counted as one of the twelve courses required to complete the English major.