Showing results by author "Christopher R. Fee" in All Categories

The history of a language is the history of the people who speak it, those who read and write it, and those who come into contact with it. Now, this series invites you to explore your heritage from an unconventional angle: through the origin and development of the English language. Leading your expedition is Christopher R. Fee, an award-winning professor and medievalist whose expertise spans Old English, Old Norse, and historical linguistics. With flair and gusto, he draws from this well of knowledge to help you trace the evolution of English across a fascinating range of cultures.

Join Christopher Fee, co-editor of An Encyclopedia of American Myth, Legend, and Folklore, for an entertaining and revealing look at our nation’s folkloric imagination. In this compelling 24-lecture audio series, you’ll meet figures such as Daniel Boone and John Henry, and learn the stories of characters such as Water Jar Boy and the Woodcutter and the Fairy. Specters also abound, and you’ll encounter frightening figures ranging from the Headless Horseman to La Llorona.

In the medieval period, how did religious women and men put into words their intense - and intensely personal - devotional practices, visions, and experiences? And how did those efforts to articulate mystical experiences comport with church doctrine? You’ll rejoice in this fresh approach to the mystical tradition, grounded in history and letters but elevated by the mystery of the soul. A natural and energetic speaker, Prof. Fee sets every aspect of his subject ablaze. You’ll find his enthusiasm infectious.

What is it about King Arthur that still holds our attention 1,500 years after he first materialized from the murky depths of history and legend? Named one of America's best professors by the Princeton Review, Christopher R. Fee transports you through space and time in search of answers. In his insightful audio course, you will trace Arthur’s path across Britain. You'll visit such iconic sites as Tintagel, Glastonbury, and Stonehenge in search of physical reminders of this legendary king, his court, and a mighty stronghold remembered through the mists of time as "Camelot".

Frequently depicted as “Scandinavian scavengers”, warlike pirates, raiders, and invaders, the Vikings have lately surfaced from the depths of history to become pop culture’s most adored ruffians. For Prof. Fee, this recent craze for all things Viking is a mixed blessing. The spike in popular fascination often occasions a need to separate the wheat from the chaff: fact from fiction, history from myth, literature from legend.

Plague has terrified and fascinated humanity for all of recorded history. Now, in the current moment of COVID-19, people around the globe are again struggling to learn how to navigate life during a pandemic. As in times of uncertainty throughout history, we seek the insights of the great minds who have lived through and reflected on similar historical moments.

In this provocative audio course, you’ll travel through time with history and medieval literature experts to learn why the truth about past events is so elusive. Your journey will be helmed by two award-winning scholars: acclaimed literature and mythology professor Christopher Fee and historian Jeffrey Webb.