VIU Dean of Arts and Humanities teaches Hemingway course before heading to international conference on renowned writer

Dr. Steve Lane, Dean of Arts and Humanities at Vancouver Island University,


teaches a course on one of his favourite writers, Ernest Hemingway, starting


May 3.

A


week after the course ends in June, Lane travels to Lausanne, Switzerland where


he will deliver a presentation to the 14th International Hemingway Society


Conference.

"Hemingway's


writing was an early love of mine," Lane said.

He


has also been intrigued by similarities between Hemingway and the English poet


Lord Byron. In Lausanne, Lane will explore how Byron and Hemingway both became


involved in foreign wars - Byron in the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s


and Hemingway in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

"Both


used their celebrity, or their celebrity was used by others, to further the


causes of those wars," Lane said.

The


VIU English 316 course, Studies in Narrative: Hemingway's Short Stories,


focuses on the works in three Hemingway collections, In Our Time, Men Without Women and Snows of Kilimanjaro.

 "Hemingway's short stories have stood the


test of time more than his novels," Lane said.

Some


of the dialogue in the First World War-era novel, A Farewell to Arms, is likely to seem hackneyed or over-the-top to


modern readers, Lane said.

He


sees more enduring interest in short stories such as The Snows of Kilimanjaro and The


Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. Lane intends to examine the volumes


of Hemingway's short stories in the context of the times when they were


published and in the context of the author's life.

Students


in the intersessional course earn credits but it can also be audited by readers


who are simply interested in learning more about the narrative style of the


iconic American author who died in 1961.

A


variety of other intersession courses are available on topics such as


composition, business and technical writing and literature and culture. For


details on course content and registration, visit: viu.ca/english/Intersession09.asp

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 For more information: contact Dr. Steve Lane


250-740-6181, email Steve.Lane@viu.ca