By Raquel Castrataro
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Camden County College will be offering a mini-course named Swords & Sorcery. This mini-course will examine the history of fantasy literature, from its roots in ancient folklore to its revival by J.R.R. Tolkien in the 20th century. The course will conclude with modern day literature and the popularity of writers like Neil Gaiman or the new HBO adaptation Game of Thrones.
A wooden sword represents Swords & Sorcery, an upcoming mini-course. By Raquel Castrataro, CCC Journalism Program
What is a mini-course, you ask? A mini-course is a five-week course on a topic that is chosen by the professor that is not regularly offered by the college but has educational value. Mini-courses are $25 per mini-course or $50 to become a member of the center where you can take unlimited courses from Sept. 1 to June 30. Mini-courses are open to anyone, not just students of the college, and you do not receive credits for the mini-course but you can earn a certification for taking the course if needed.
The mini-course is a fairly new program offered by the college and was mainly designed to help teachers meet their professional development requirements. There is no attendance policy for mini-courses, so as a student you can attend all five weeks or just one, depending on your interest in the course or topic being covered.
Swords & Sorcery will be covering five weeks of topics that range from The Monster Manual to Fantasy 2.0. Professor Peter Woodworth will be running this mini-course. This is Woodworth’s second mini-course. The first one he taught was on Vampires. Woodworth stated he is the most excited to cover the last topic, Fantasy 2.0, in this mini-course because he “will really get a chance to pull everything together and show how far modern and urban fantasy has become.”
Swords & Sorcery is more of a lecture course, but Woodworth said he “really wants to focus on the core of fantasy in literature” and “it’s not just about dungeons and dragons.”
This mini-course is designed for anyone who would like to further their education and is considered a great course to take to help ease into the college atmosphere, plus it does not carry the stress of a full college course. It is open to anyone and will be offered from Nov. 14 to Dec. 12 every Monday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the Blackwood campus of Camden County College.
Registration for mini-courses is available at http://www.camdencc.edu/civiccenter/calendar/minicourses.cfm or in advisors’ offices on campus.