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Dreams, Disillusionment, and Redemption in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’ – GI 25 063

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1 August 2025 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pm BST

Event Series Event Series (See All)

Tutor: Darren Harper BA (Hons), PGCE, DipBSoM

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Details

Date: 1 August 2025
Time:
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Length of Course:
2 consecutive days
Reference Code:
GI 25 063
Location:
Ward Street
Guildford, Surrey GU1 4LH

Overview

This thought-provoking two-day summer school explores F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Day one delves into the complexities of the American Dream, identity, and moral choices, while day two examines themes of love, memory, and historical trauma. Through engaging discussions and reflective writing exercises, participants will connect personal experiences with the characters’ struggles, fostering a deeper understanding of resilience and the human condition.

Please read the novels before the course.

There will be breaks throughout the course.

Tags

Deirdre Sullivan from Pixabay

This date isn’t the first in the event series. For more information on ticket availability, please get in touch.

01483 562142

Office hours are Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5.00pm

About the Speaker

Darren Harper

https://www.darrenharper.net/

Darren holds a BA (Hons) English & Creative Writing (1st class), a PGCE in Lifelong Learning, and has been an adult education teacher for 10 years. Darren has a 1st class honours degree in English & Creative Writing in 2012 with the University of Cumbria. I then went on to do a PGCE and taught GCSE English and A Levels at Carlisle College before becoming a self-employed adult education teacher.

Darren has have been an adult education teacher for about 10 years. Having previously served in the Royal Navy, Darren now travels around the UK teaching Philosophy, Philosophy & Literature, Global Philosophy, Philosophy for Life and Stoicism, amongst other related subjects. Though based in Northumberland, he teaches regularly in Cumbria and Newcastle upon Tyne, London, Guildford, Bristol and Penzance. Additionally, Darren teaches residential courses in Cumbria, Northamptonshire, Perthshire, Wiltshire and Somerset.

More recently, as my interests develop, I tend to focus on Global Philosophy and Stoicism. My research into Global Philosophy has rekindled my interest in Meditation, and so in 2023 I qualified as a Meditation Teacher with the British School of Meditation, gaining a Distinction. I am also beginning to explore the Philosophy of Spirituality, and am building a range of courses offering a secular and philosophical approach to spiritual ways of thinking, and spiritual ways of being.

Darren's first book, Encounters and Reflections: An Introduction to Philosophy, was published in 2022.

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