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Course name
Anglo-Saxon England: Bede and Beowulf with Joseph Pearce
Recorded course taught by Joseph Pearce for High School Medieval Literature
Summary

Embark on a captivating journey through the rich tapestry of Anglo-Saxon England with Professor Joseph Peace, where the writings of Bede and the epic tale of Beowulf come to life. 

 

Instructor: Joseph Pearce

 

Course Description: This will be an interdisciplinary course, integrating history, literature, and theology, focusing on the rich Catholic culture of Anglo-Saxon England (596 AD - 1066 AD), especially in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England and in the epic poem, Beowulf.

Instructor Access (Optional grading support) is available for this course. Please note: this is ONLY recommended if you wish to write the optional paper. All quizzes are internally graded in this course. Optional papers will be completed via this page (click here) for an Instructor Access fee of $75.

Total classes

6

Duration

55 minutes

Prerequisites

The ability to read and enjoy the works

Suggested grade level

9th to 12th grade

Suggested credit

1/2 semester credit of Literature or English. Follow with Poems Every Catholic Should Know for a full semester credit.

Outline

Course outline:

Week One: Setting the Scene: Who were the Anglo-Saxons?

Week Two: Bede pages 51-77 & 103-104 & 146-7

Week Three: Bede pages 284-94 & 321-328

Week Four: Beowulf lines 1-1250

Week Five: Beowulf lines 1251-2199

Week Six: Beowulf lines 2200-3182

Materials

  • Course materials: Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Penguin Classics);

  • Beowulf: A Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney (Norton Critical Edition)

Homework

The reading assignment for each class is detailed in the Course Outline above. Students should complete the assigned reading for each class beforehand. Students should highlight the passages discussed in class and review this for the quiz assigned for each class. The estimated time for homework for each class, i.e. for the assigned reading and reviewing for each quiz, should be about 90 minutes.

Course name
Anglo-Saxon England: Bede and Beowulf with Joseph Pearce
Instructor
Joseph Pearce
Semester
Recorded
Category
Literature ➤ Medieval Literature
Grade level
High School
Start time
September 4th, 2024 at 1:00 PM ET
Course type
Recorded, free with subscription
Relative due dates
Relative due dates are disabled for this course.

About Joseph Pearce

A native of England, Joseph Pearce is the internationally acclaimed author of many books, which include bestsellers such as The Quest for Shakespeare, Tolkien: Man and Myth, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church, Literary Converts, Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton, Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile and Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc.

His books have been published and translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Croatian and Polish. He has hosted two 13-part television series about Shakespeare on EWTN, and has also written and presented documentaries on EWTN on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. His verse drama, Death Comes for the War Poets, was performed off-Broadway to critical acclaim. He has participated and lectured at a wide variety of international and literary events at major colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Europe, Africa and South America.

He is Visiting Professor of Literature at Ave Maria University and a Visiting Fellow of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (Merrimack, New Hampshire). He is editor of the St. Austin Review (https://staustinreview.org/), series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions (www.ignatiuscriticaleditions.com), senior instructor with Homeschool Connections, and senior contributor at the Imaginative Conservative and Crisis Magazine.

His personal website is http://www.jpearce.co.  

Testimonies from students:

“I appreciated and enjoyed the class, I understood the teacher even with his accent.”

“I LOVE Mr. Pearce's British accent! I also greatly appreciated the email response that was given when I asked a question.”

See Courses & Videos

Click here for more info about Joseph Pearce!