AN UNDERSTANDING OF ULYSSES
NORMAL JOYCE FOR NORMAL PEOPLE
during lockdown 2020-21, Russell Raphael gave a series of 22 online lectures on joyce’s Ulysses.
The aim was to make Ulysses accesible to the modern reader. The lectures were a success and those who had thought Ulysses to be a book beyond them, finished it with a sense of achievement.
‘An Understanding of Ulysses’ is a written collection of the lectures. Each one corresponds to episodes in the book and are written in a way that compliments the reading experience. In them, Russell demystifies the content and reveals the humour of Ulysses.
Russell doubts there is a definitive understanding of Ulysses, but hopes that lovers of books will read it and be able to form a personal understanding of the content.
“History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.”
James Joyce, Ulysses.
watch a free sample lecture from russell
a summary of the book
A glimpse into the content, lecture by lecture.
sounds of ulysses
For an immersive learning experience, listen to the playlist curated to accompany the book.
DONNER THE HAMMER: ARCHIVE
Russell once did a blog combining two of his loves, West Ham United and the operas of Richard Wagner. The archives are below.