Education

The Dickens Project fosters a diverse and inclusive literary community, one that encourages discussion, intellectual curiosity, and the formation of lasting friendships. 

As one Road Scholar put it, the Dickens Universe offers an “intensive examination of the selected book, with lectures by first-class scholars and the exchange of opinions with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. All this makes the week an intellectual feast. I wish the rest of my life offered as rich an experience.” 

Creating a unique educational experience is at the heart of what we do. Comments from two students who attended the 2016 Dickens Universe illustrate just how much Dickens Project programs inspire and support learning at every level. 

"When I once thought of literary analysis as something that could only be achieved through one medium, I now realize that literature can be studied through a variety of formats—by focusing on the novel’s contextual history, by using code to find patterns and repetitions in a novel or among novels, or by attempting to replicate the serialization gap in Dickens’ novels, etc. Despite being confident in my intention to study Molecular and Cellular Biology, this experience made me much more open to a career in English. There exists no one-size-fits-all method to analyzing literature, and that personally makes the English field much more attractive to me."

MAURICIO GARCIA, HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST WINNER, NEIGHBORHOOD ACADEMIC INITIATIVE  

"I had attended the Dickens Universe years before, but this time its impact was even more profound. When I was an undergraduate at Rutgers University, I was fortunate enough to attend the Dickens Universe twice as part of my honors thesis research. My experience there confirmed my desire to pursue graduate study in Victorian literature, especially among such sympathetic and generous colleagues as those at the Dickens Universe. Having the opportunity to attend again nine years later, I was ready to return for the familiar grueling week immersed in a single Dickens novel. Despite that familiarity, my experience this summer transformed the way I see my work and affirmed my passion for writing and teaching Victorian literature."

JEFFREY KESSLER, GRADUATE STUDENT OF LITERATURE, INDIANA UNIVERSITY, BLOOMINGTON