William Faulkner's Light in August

A course with Dr. Larry Allums
Four Tuesdays, November 3, 10, 17, & 24, 2026

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Reception at 5:30 PM

Educator members: Free
Non-Educator members: $64
Non-members: $80
Includes reception food and beverages

Syllabus and Schedule of Readings

November 3           Introduction. Faulkner’s life and art.
                                  Southern culture and literature.
                                  Light in August, chapters 1-5.

November 10        Light in August, chapters 6-11.

November 17        Light in August, chapters 12-16

November 24        Light in August, chapters 17-21

Light in August is set in Faulkner’s fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi, and presents several protagonists with equal intensity: Joe Christmas, a violent drifter who doesn’t know whether he’s black or white; Lena Grove and Byron Bunch, a poor white couple who find each other in a menacing milieu; and Rev. Gail Hightower, a disgraced, reclusive preacher who is pulled against his will by the lives of all three--Christmas, Lena, and Byron--back into the flow of life itself. Here Faulkner answers the question: is the art form of the novel large enough to contain both tragedy and comedy?

Text: Vintage International, ISBN 978-0679732266

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