Seminars meet each weekday morning, with afternoons free for course-related field trips, individual study, or exploring the many places of interest in and around the city.
Please note that OUDCE reserves the right to alter course content and/or cancel field trips in accordance with government guidance.
Monday
We will look at the lives of Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, at their childhoods and their lives at Christ Church. We will also take a walking tour around college to see places associated with Alice and her family, as well as possible inspirations for ‘Alice in Wonderland’: the secret door, the Cheshire Cat, and the Jabberwocky Tree.
Tuesday
The origins and secrets of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. In the afternoon we will follow the famous boating trip to Binsey, Godstow Nunnery, and the Trout Inn, visiting the Treacle Well and reading passages from Alice in Wonderland.
Wednesday
‘Through the Looking Glass’ – we will look at Carroll’s inspiration for his second Alice book, and follow the path of what is both a story and a chess game.
Thursday
‘Through the Looking Glass’ – an examination and discussion of some of Carroll’s most memorable characters: Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Walrus and the Carpenter, the White Knight, and the Jabberwock.
Friday
Realising Alice: how illustrators, playwrights, and film makers have been inspired by the Alice books. We will look at John Tenniel’s illustrations and the process of their production, at Saville Clarke’s original stage play, and at the many screen adaptations and illustrators whose work ranges from the faithful, to the irreverent, to the grotesque.
Field trip
Destination: Binsey, Godstow and the Trout Inn
Excursion rating: Moderate - up to two hours’ walk on even ground or up to an hour’s walk on uneven /unpaved surface and/or steep/hilly ground including lots of stairs and steps in houses and gardens.