Star Wars English Class

Welcome to the first in a series of rambling, casual episodes where Fern and Julia do not hold themselves to pesky things like "academic standards" and "research" and just kind of chat, like you would during your professor's office hours.  Points of Interest:-Julia's Broken Brain-Sometimes, Star Wars is Book-SWCC London Live Episode THANK YOU!!-Talking Back to Our Own Podcast-This is a Pro Union Podcast-You Can Podcast from the WoodsSocial Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

Recorded live from the HoloNet News Stage at Star Wars Celebration London,  Fern and Julia explore Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and the impact of "The Hero's Journey" on Star Wars and mass-media storytelling in general.  (Psst...the audio isn't great in this one because Julia forgot she saved the audio we recorded with the nice microphone to her external hard drive...which is currently 2000 miles away from her. We'll upload the improved audio as soon as we can).  Points of Interest: The KCU (Korkie Cinematic Universe), Joseph Campbell's Whole Deal, Audience Participation,  Archetypal Set Points, and Ending Early to Get to the High Republic Panel.   Huge thanks to the incredible and multi-talented @jacobdavidearl for our new logo!Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

Join Julia and Fern for a special Summer School session with in-depth exploration of the themes, story elements, character arcs, and more of the final three episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).Our Obi-Wan Kenobi Media Recommendations for Further Reading:Brotherhood by Mike Chen Padawan by Kiersten WhiteObi-Wan Kenobi (2022) comic mini-series Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter and TikTokJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comMusic by ZapSplat.comSocial Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

In this week’s episode, Fern teaches Julia about fairy tales! Join us as we explore the history of folktale, the rise of the literary fairy tale, the tropes and conventions of the genre, and J.R.R. “Jorts” Tolkien’s most famous essay, “On Fairy Stories.” How does our understanding of Star Wars shift and develop when we consider it in the context of this literary tradition? What do fairy tales and stories like Star Wars “offer” us in our adult lives? And will Hank Green finally admit that Star Wars is more fantasy than science fiction?Points of Interest: There is Only One Step and it is Crab, Jorts Tolkien, Snow White’s Jazz Party, Ezra Pound’s Little Fascist Podcast, Special Babies, Julia and Hank Green’s TikTok BeefSocial Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

Join Julia and Fern for a special Summer School session with in-depth exploration of the themes, story elements, character arcs, and more of the first three episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022). Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

In this episode, Julia teaches Fern about serialization! We explore the differences between series and serials, discuss the effects of serialization on storytelling and audience engagement, and consider what it means to be agents of narrative continuation as members of the Star Wars fandom. How does serialization determine story structure? Is Star Wars broken (on purpose)? And was George Lucas right when he said that Star Wars is like poetry? On the syllabus:Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020)Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)Kelleter, Frank. “Five Ways of Looking at Popular Seriality.” Media of Serial Narrative, edited by Frank Kelleter, Ohio State University Press, 2017, pp. 7–34.O’Sullivan, Sean. “Broken on Purpose: Poetry, Serial Television, and the Season.” Storyworlds: A Journal of Narrative Studies, vol. 2, 2010, pp. 59–77. Hayward, Jennifer. Consuming Pleasures: Active Audiences and Serial Fictions from Dickens to Soap Opera. 1st ed., University Press of Kentucky, 1997.Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

Fern and Julia are back for Star Wars English Class's sophomore year! We're kicking off swenglishclass season two with our first Character Study. Join us as we perform an in-depth exploration of Obi-Wan Kenobi's characterization and character development within both Canon and Legends materials. How does Obi-Wan's narrative purpose shift between the Original Trilogy and the Prequels? Which Legends story beats inform Obi-Wan's Canon characterization? And what exactly is a character, anyway?On the syllabus:Uri Mangolin. “Character.” The Cambridge Companion to Narrative, edited by David Herman, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007, pp. 66–79. Cambridge Companions to Literature.Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope  (1977)Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)Jedi Apprentice (series) by Jude Watson (1999-2002)TIMESTAMPS(01:18) Introductory Shenanigans(11:10) Is Lego Star Wars Camp?(17:18) Our Obi-Wan Kenobi Histories(23:23) Character and Characterization(36:07)  Obi-Wan in the Original Trilogy(47:02) Obi-Wan in the Prequel Trilogy(1:32:05) Obi-Wan's Literary Lineage(1:38:00) What We Talk About When We Talk About Obi-Wan(2:02:54) Concluding ShenanigansSocial Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

Hey class, it's time for another Star Wars Book Report! In this special bonus episode and second installment in our Book Report series, Julia is joined by fellow Star Wars TikToker, Camila (@boricuawookiee) to discuss the final installment in E.K. Johnston's Padmè-focused YA Queen's Trilogy, Queen's Hope.  TIMESTAMPS BELOW.(00:14:13) General Padmè Discussion(00:29:24) Queen's Trilogy General Discussion(00:41:08) Queen's Hope No Spoilers(01:02:05) Queen's Hope Spoilers DiscussionCamila is on TikTok @boricuawookiee and Beings of the Galaxy can be found wherever pods are cast. Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

It's a Star Wars Book Report! In this special bonus episode, Fern and Julia review and discuss the latest adult novel in The High Republic era, The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray. Thank you to Del Rey for an early review copy. Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

In the penultimate episode of season one of Star Wars English Class, Julia overcomes her fear of French literary theory to teach Fern about intertextuality. We explore the The Ferdinand de Saussure to Disney Star Wars Canon Pipeline, analyze some of George Lucas's cultural and historical "references," Fern goes on a Quick Adventure Zone Tangent™️, and we discover two ultimate truths: language is a prison and there is no Star Wars.  On the SyllabusStar Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, dir. J.J. AbramsStar Wars: The High Republic, A Test of Courage by Justina IrelandIan Buchanan. "intertextuality." A Dictionary of Critical Theory: Oxford University Press, Oxford Reference.Daniel Chandler. "Semiotics for Beginners: Intertextuality," http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem09.htmlGerard Genette. Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree, Channa Newman and Claude Doubinsky (trans.), University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln NE and London.William Irwin. "Against Intertextuality." Philosophy and Literature, vol. 28 no. 2, 2004, p. 227-242. Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

Happy Holo-ween! (Thanks TikTok User @natethegirl!) Or, Unalive Day? Death Day? In this chaotic and spooky live episode, Fern and Julia discuss all things spooky and scary in a galaxy far, far away including: haunted artifacts in The High Republic, Mothman Truther Quinlan Vos, and what exactly we should call Halloween in Star Wars. On the Syllabus:Into the Dark by Claudia GrayDooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan ScottWild Space by Karen MillerThe Travels of Sir John Mandeville by John MandevilleSocial Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter and TikTokJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comMusic by ZapSplat.comSocial Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

It's FACPOV 2: The Empire Strikes Back -- or, wait a minute, nope, we gave this episode a different funny name. In today's episode, Fern and Julia return their discussion of point of view as Fern teaches the class about 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person POV, the difference between an involved and an uninvolved narrator, and the way POV shapes a narrative. Why might an author choose to write in the 3rd person subjective POV instead of the 1st person? What can we learn from uninvolved narrators like Nick Carraway? Is The Bad Batch truly about the Bad Batch?  And why do so many canon Star Wars novels include a rotating cast of 3rd person subjective POV characters?On the Syllabus Today:Method and Madness: The Making of a Story by Alice LePlantThe Bad Batch (2021)Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott (2021)Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson (2017)Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

On today's episode, Julia teaches Fern about revenge tragedy and Shakespeare's favorite Star Wars character, Maul. Julia and Fern discuss the elements of a revenge tragedy, Maul's backstory, and the ultimate fate of all revengers. Essential questions: What makes Maul a revenger? What stops the cycle of revenge? And what would have happened if Maul had been found by a traveling Shakespeare troupe instead of Palpatine?On the Syllabus:Charles and Elaine Hallett, The Revenger's Madness: A Study of Revenge Tragedy Motifs (1990)Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2019)Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy (1587)William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1600)Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

In this special "mini" episode, Julia and Fern discuss their recent trip to Disneyland's Star Wars-themed park, Galaxy's Edge.  They discuss the concept of transmedia, specifically how Star Wars exists in multiple forms: movies, TV series, books, video games, and now, amusement parks.  How does Galaxy's Edge function as a greater part of the intertextual web of Star Wars? How can a theme park be "canon?" And most importantly, is Domhnall Gleeson's performance on Rise of the Resistance the campiest thing in all of Star Wars? On the Syllabus Today: Black Spire by Delilah S. DawsonA Crash of Fate by Zoraida CórdovaSocial Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

In this week's episode, Fern teaches the class about queer coding! Join us as we delve into the history of queer coding and discuss queerbaiting, the Hays Code, and compulsory heterosexuality. Why do so many Star Wars fans think Luke Skywalker is gay? Why does Sabine Wren's dyed hair indicate queerness? And how can we read Ahsoka Tano as a queer figure despite her relationship with one Lux Bonteri? On the Syllabus:"Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence" (1980) by Adrienne Rich"The Strange, Difficult History of Queer Coding" (2018) by Tricia Ennis"The History of Queer Coding" by Jessica Kellgren-Fozard (YouTube)Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)The Clone Wars series (2008-2012, 2020)Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

This week, Julia teaches Fern about Faustian bargains and deals with the devil! We discuss the plot and themes of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus,  the Dark Side and Sith apprenticeship, and Sidious's role as Star Wars Satan.  Do Sidious's apprentices (Maul, Dooku, and Vader) sell their souls when they turn to the Dark Side? How do these characters respond when they're offered the possibility of redemption? And is it possible to study the Dark Side without being corrupted by it?On the Syllabus:Doctor Faustus (1604) by Christopher MarloweSon of Dathomir Issues 1-4,  Juan Frigeri (Illustrator), Jeremy Barlow (author)Light of the Jedi by Charles SouleInto the Dark by Claudia GrayDooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan ScottThe Clone Wars series (2008-2012, 2020)Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithHealy, Thomas. “Doctor Faustus.” The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe, edited by Patrick Cheney, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004, pp. 174–192. Cambridge Companions to Literature.Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

This week, Fern and Julia go back to the basics as Fern teaches the class about story structure! We discuss Freytagian story structure (Freytag's Pyramid: Barely a Triangle™️), traditional vs. experimental structures, and linear and modular storytelling. When does a story benefit from a non-linear structure? What is the value of experimental storytelling? How does the structure of A New Hope differ from the structure of The Clone Wars? And what's up with the pacing of The Bad Batch?On the Syllabus Today:Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020)The Bad Batch (2021)Alice LePlante, Method and Madness: The Making of a StoryBailey, Tom, editor. On Writing Short Stories. 2000. Oxford University Press, 2011.LePlant, Alice. Method and Madness: The Making of a Story. 2007. W. W. Norton and Company, 2007.Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

In this week’s episode of Star Wars English Class, Julia teaches Fern about unreliable narrators! But to learn about unreliable narrators, we must first learn about story, plot, and narration (spoiler alert: that’s not the only list of three things in this week’s episode). How can the same story be told in different ways by different narrators? What are the different kinds of unreliable narrators? How does the language of film convey unreliability? And how can we determine the “facts” of a story? This week, we’ll discuss Kanan Jarrus, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and Kylo Ren as we endeavor to uncover the truth about unreliable narrators in Star Wars.On the Syllabus Today:"Aftermath," The Bad Batch: S01EP01 (2021)Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)H. Porter Abbot, "Story, Plot, and Narration" (2007)Abbott, H. Porter. “Story, Plot, and Narration.” The Cambridge Companion to Narrative, edited by David Herman, 1st ed., Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 39–51.Anderson, Emily R. “Telling Stories: Unreliable Discourse, Fight Club, and the Cinematic Narrator.” Journal of Narrative Theory, vol. 40, no. 1, 2010, pp. 80–107.Shen, Dan. “The Living Handbook of Narratology.” Unreliability | the Living Handbook of Narratology, University of Hamburg, 31 Dec. 2013, www.lhn.uni-hamburg.de/node/66.html."Who Can You Trust? Unreliable Narrators (Feat. Lindsay Ellis)." YouTube, uploaded by PBS Voices, 17 December 2018. https://youtu.be/AM7pALSwH_IZerweck, Bruno. “Historicizing Unreliable Narration: Unreliability and Cultural Discourse in Narrative Fiction.” Style, vol. 35, no. 1, 2001, pp. 151–76.Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

In this episode, Fern teaches Julia about Camp! Camp is a mode of aestheticism that focuses on exaggeration, artifice, and playfulness. It is, according to Susan Sontag, “the good taste of bad taste,” a way of looking at a text that encourages readers to be “serious about the frivolous, frivolous about the serious.” Is Star Wars, with all its focus on visuals and aesthetics, its exaggerated characters, its juxtaposition of sci-fi glamour and dirt, Camp? What do we gain if we choose to read it as Camp? Does its overtly political themes and messaging negate a Camp reading of the text? And is “Somehow, Palpatine returned” the Campiest line in contemporary cinema?On the Syllabus:Susan Sontag, “Notes on Camp” (1964)Franziska Bergmann, Ingrid Hotz-Davies, Georg Vogt, The Dark Side of Camp Aesthetics: Queer Economies of Dirt, Dust, and Patina (2017)Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com

Welcome to Star Wars English Class! This week, Julia and Fern introduce themselves, discuss the Star Wars English Class curriculum, and tackle a question that’s been on their minds: is Anakin Skywalker a tragic hero? In this lesson, you will learn about the history of the tragic hero as Fern and Julia trace its roots from Greek and Renaissance tragedy to contemporary fiction. How do we define tragic heroism? To what extent does a tragic hero have agency over his fate? And how does Anakin Skywalker fit into this literary tradition?On the Syllabus:Sophocles, Oedipus Rex  (c. 429 BCE) William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1600)Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy (1587)Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)“Antigone, Sophocles.” Youtube, uploaded by The Center for Hellenic Studies, 5 August2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSnfzgN7QfA&list=PLq5ea-jR9u2ojLpe4x3suBCx1eGuXwnL2&index=21Aristotle. “Poetics.” The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism: Second Edition, edited by Vincent B. Leitch, W. W. Norton & Company, 2010, pp. 88-115.”Bacchae, Euripides - Reading Greek Tragedy Online.” Youtube, uploaded by The Center for Hellenic Studies, 20 April 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAt1FDCF2hQ&list=PLq5ea-jR9u2ojLpe4x3suBCx1eGuXwnL2&index=6 Boas, George. “The Evolution of the Tragic Hero.” The Carleton Drama Review, vol. 1, no. 1, 1955, pp. 5–21. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1124612.Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. St. Martin's Press, 1985.“CHS Dialogues with Gregory Nagy | Tragedy, Anger, and Agamemnon.” Youtube, uploaded by The Center for Hellenic Studies, 5 November 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Ez3HT_TJo&list=PLq5ea-jR9u2prF3fg9FCJPGEz6TJzDwH2&index=14&t=450sKrieger, Murray. “Tragedy and the Tragic Vision.” The Kenyon Review, vol. 20, no. 2, 1958, pp. 281–299. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4333856.McDonald, Russ. "Theater à la Mode: Shakespeare and the Kinds of Drama." The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare: An Introduction with Documents, 79-108.Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. Twayne Publishers, 1993.Segal, Charles. “Charles Segal on the Greatness of Oedipus the King.” Sophocles’ Oedipus Plays: A Contemporary Literary Views Book, edited by Harold Bloom, Chelsea House Publishers, 1996, pp. 73-75.Social Media:@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and InstagramJulia is on TikTok @juliachristine77Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfernBusiness inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.comLogo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)Music by ZapSplat.com