Low-cost Communiversity course will explore Charles Dickens’s masterpiece “Bleak House” with themes of destiny, social mobility and law & justice

The University of Indianapolis is offering a low-cost, book-club-style Communiversity course to students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members. This year’s course will focus on the themes of the novel “Bleak House” by Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from March 1852 to September 1853.

The 9th Annual Communiversity takes place throughout the fall semester (Aug. 26 through Dec. 14) and will include manageable weekly readings and online discussions, plus occasional lectures presented by UIndy faculty to discuss “Bleak House” and more thoroughly explore the many themes within the text.

Community members wishing to participate can register here. This course is intended to be taken by those who have completed high school or have an equivalent credential. The registration cost of $10 allows access to the online discussion forum and other course materials.

“One of the inspirations for Communiversity is to offer a supportive community with which to tackle long novels which some might find intimidating,” said Dr. Jennifer Camden, professor and associate chair of the UIndy Department of English. “The pace of the course, the weekly discussions and the guest lectures offer a lot of help to make a hefty book more manageable. ‘Bleak House’ is like the 19th century version of a great Netflix series: readers could pick up each serialized installment as it was released or wait to binge the whole thing.”

Communiversity 2024 begins Monday, Aug. 26. Registration will remain open through Friday, Aug. 30.