James Heffernan

James Heffernan, Emeritus Professor of English at Dartmouth College, has taught two courses on Ulysses for the Dartmouth Osher program and has delivered 24 lectures on the novel for the Teaching Company/ Great Courses. His latest book—Politics and Literature at the Dawn of World War II—was published by Bloomsbury Academic in December 2022.

Course Title: Joyce’s Ulysses: Getting to Yes (Fall Term 2022)
Participant Testimonials:

This was a perfect course -- a difficult but rewarding text taught by a master teacher who is a world-class expert on the book.

I love the assignments that formed the basis for discussion. No one is more knowledgeable about this than Jim Heffernan.

Course Title: Ulysses: Diving Deeper (Fall Term 2020)
Participant Testimonials:

Jim Heffernan is one of Dartmouth's greats. Osher is lucky to get him.

Expected it to be excellent and it was even better than I thought it would be.

Course Title: James Joyce’s Ulysses: Diving In (Fall Term 2019)
Participant Testimonials:

His extensive knowledge of the subject enabled him to highlight areas participants may have missed, provide background on more obscure parts of the text, and support the participants understanding.

He encourages his students’ discoveries and realizations within this richly complex novel as though each thought is fresh and new to him, skillfully drawing students into the discussion.
As a result, the varied viewpoints expressed within the class give a deeper understanding of the book, its humor and its humanity.