Star Wars English Class

This week in "Star Wars Appreciation 101," Julia and Fern try not to lose the plot while watching Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Analyzing the film’s structure, conflicts, and (weird) pacing, they make some surprising discoveries about the story we think we know. Spoiler Alert: However long you think the Death Star sequence is, no it’s not. 

On the Syllabus this Week:

• Lucas, George, director. Star Wars Epis...

Welcome to Star Wars Appreciation 101! (#SWA101). In this episode, Fern and Julia explore "What We Do With Star Wars" by reading "The Force Provides" by Justina Ireland (Tales of Light and Life YA High Republic Anthology) through three main "principles" that challenge how we engage with stories.

On the Syllabus Today:

• "The Force Provides" by Justina Ireland. Tales of Light and Lif...

In this episode, Fern and Julia finally explain where they've been and where they (and the podcast) are going.

Tl;dr: New season "Star Wars Appreciation 101", coming soon!

Social Media:
@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram
Julia is on TikTok @juliachristine77
Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfern

Business inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.com

Logo b...

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 Podc...

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 c...

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 White
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) comic mini-series

Social Media:
@swenglishclass on Twitter and TikTok

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 i...

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 Instagram
Julia is on TikTok @juliachristine77
Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfern

Business inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.com

Logo by Jacob David Earl (@jaco...

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 l...

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 inf...

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
• (...

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 Instagram
Julia is on TikTok @juliachristine77
Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfern

Business inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gma...

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...

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 Gray
Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott
...

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...

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?...

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...

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 Syllab...

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?...