Wild Women: travel writing by women walkers, cyclists and horse riders

What is the course about?

This online literature course will take you on an international journey, following the travels of four inspirational women, examining the styles of their writing; their thoughts about the people they met and the places they visited; and their emotions and resilience in often dangerous and challenging circumstances.

The course begins by following the French-Belgian explorer Alexandra David-Néel on her 1924 travels through Tibet, disguised as a beggar. She was the first European woman to enter Lhasa, which was at that time closed to foreigners. We will read extracts from her book Magic and Mystery in Tibet.

In the second week, we shall accompany the British-Italian explorer Freya Stark on her travels through various countries in the Middle East during the 1920s-40s, reading extracts from some of her books, including the highly acclaimed Valley of the Assassins and viewing some of her photography from her journeys.

The wonderful Irish travel writer, Dervla Murphy, will be the subject of Week Three, as we read extracts from several of her books, including Full Tilt which details her solo cycle ride (with no gears) from Ireland to India in 1963; her experiences in Afghanistan make particularly interesting reading in light of more recent events.

For our final week, we will accompany Cheryl Strayed on sections of her mammoth 1100-mile solo trek along the west coast of America in her book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. With its intimate style, it is a study of both grief and renewal through nature and physical and mental challenge.

This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone can be used if you don't have a computer but please note the experience may be less optimal.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.

What will we cover?

Week 1: Alexandra David-Néel in Tibet
Week 2: Freya Stark in the Middle East
Week 3: Dervla Murphy in Europe and Asia
Week 4: Chery Strayed on the Pacific Crest Trail.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

• Analyse prose to better understand a writer’s language choices
• Evaluate the importance of nature, people, politics and spirituality on these four women’s experiences
• Explain the achievements of these four women in the context of the history of travel writing and exploration.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This course is for anyone with an interest in the subject. Some previous knowledge of studying literature would be helpful. All text extracts are provided.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

Each session will begin with a short introductory lecture with a powerpoint presentation. In some sessions, photography and film extracts will be used to illuminate topics and historical contexts. Text extracts will be discussed, using secondary texts to introduce new ideas to encourage a deeper contemplation of the primary texts.

Work outside class is to read the relevant texts and extracts in preparation for the upcoming week.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

All text extracts will be provided digitally on Google Classroom as a course booklet, so students will not have to buy any texts. All other materials will be provided by the tutor.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

The tutor will also be teaching HLT280 Writing Nature. For this and other Literature courses please look at www.citylit.ac.uk under History, Culture & Writing/Literature/Poetry.