Ulysses by James Joyce chronicles the experiences of three Dubliners over the course of a single day, 16 June 1904. Ulysses is the Roman name of Odysseus.
Reading and Writing Workshop: Ulysses by James Joyce
General Instructions:
Begin by reading the work either in groups or as a class. If group reading, divide the work into sections and assign each group a section. As groups, they will read their section, write a summary of each chapter, and then each group reports on their chapters sequentially. As students read, they should complete the literary thinking guide or Novel Tracker. After reading and reporting on the entire novel, the workshop might consist of a single session or more. The goal is to engage participants in an exploration of a day in the life of a man.
Workshop Overview
This workshop treats Ulysses not as a book to “get through,” but as a text to experience, decode, perform, and respond to. Students work in rotating groups that specialize in context, technique, theme, and creative response, mirroring Joyce’s own layered construction.
Essential Questions
Pre-Reading Launch (Whole Class)
Mini-Lesson: How to Read an “Unreadable” Book
Reading Structure
Instead of reading linearly all the time, students rotate through episode clusters.
Suggested Episode Groupings
Session 1. Context & Dublin Group
Focus: History, geography, politics, religion, daily life
Tasks:
Session 2. Style & Technique Group
Focus: How Joyce writes
Tasks:
Session 3. Myth & Structure Group
Focus: Homeric parallels and symbolic architecture
Tasks:
Session 4. Character & Consciousness Group
Focus: Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, Molly Bloom
Tasks:
Session 5. Language & Meaning Group
Focus: Words, allusions, ambiguity
Tasks:
Session 6. Creative Response Group
Focus: Writing with Joyce, not about him
Tasks:
Weekly Workshop Flow
Day 1 – Group Reading
Writing Pathways (Student Choice)
Analytical Options
Assessment (Flexible & Humane)
Reading Portfolio
Culminating Project: One Day, Many Minds
Group Project Options
General Instructions:
Begin by reading the work either in groups or as a class. If group reading, divide the work into sections and assign each group a section. As groups, they will read their section, write a summary of each chapter, and then each group reports on their chapters sequentially. As students read, they should complete the literary thinking guide or Novel Tracker. After reading and reporting on the entire novel, the workshop might consist of a single session or more. The goal is to engage participants in an exploration of a day in the life of a man.
Workshop Overview
This workshop treats Ulysses not as a book to “get through,” but as a text to experience, decode, perform, and respond to. Students work in rotating groups that specialize in context, technique, theme, and creative response, mirroring Joyce’s own layered construction.
Essential Questions
- How does Ulysses redefine what a novel can be?
- How do everyday experiences become epic through Joyce’s techniques?
- In what ways does consciousness shape reality?
- How does form influence meaning?
- Why does Ulysses still matter to modern readers?
Pre-Reading Launch (Whole Class)
Mini-Lesson: How to Read an “Unreadable” Book
- Explain stream of consciousness, interior monologue, mythic parallels, and stylistic experimentation
- Normalize confusion: confusion is participation
- Introduce The Odyssey parallel (no deep Homer homework yet)
- No group may summarize alone--interpretation is collective
- Every session ends with evidence + reflection
- Humor allowed. Strongly encouraged.
Reading Structure
Instead of reading linearly all the time, students rotate through episode clusters.
Suggested Episode Groupings
- Orientation: Telemachiad (Episodes 1–3)
- Bloom’s World: Episodes 4–6
- Form Experiments: Episodes 7–14 (selective)
- Intimacy & Identity: Episodes 15–18 (guided excerpts)
Session 1. Context & Dublin Group
Focus: History, geography, politics, religion, daily life
Tasks:
- Create a Dublin Day Map tracing Bloom’s movements
- Explain references to Irish nationalism, Catholicism, colonialism
- Clarify social norms affecting gender, class, and identity
Session 2. Style & Technique Group
Focus: How Joyce writes
Tasks:
- Track stylistic shifts (newspaper headlines, catechism, drama, parody)
- Identify stream-of-consciousness patterns
- Translate one dense passage into “plain prose”
Session 3. Myth & Structure Group
Focus: Homeric parallels and symbolic architecture
Tasks:
- Match episodes to The Odyssey
- Explain why Joyce uses myth for modern life
- Identify symbolic objects (food, ads, water, bodies)
Session 4. Character & Consciousness Group
Focus: Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, Molly Bloom
Tasks:
- Trace inner thoughts vs. outward actions
- Examine alienation, empathy, masculinity, femininity
- Track moments of kindness, failure, desire
Session 5. Language & Meaning Group
Focus: Words, allusions, ambiguity
Tasks:
- Identify multilingual phrases and wordplay
- Explain ambiguity: what can’t be pinned down?
- Decide where confusion is intentional
Session 6. Creative Response Group
Focus: Writing with Joyce, not about him
Tasks:
- Write a short stream-of-consciousness piece set in one day
- Imitate one episode’s style (headlines, catechism, interior monologue)
- Experiment with voice, punctuation, rhythm
Weekly Workshop Flow
Day 1 – Group Reading
- Groups read assigned excerpts together
- Annotation focus aligned to group role
- Evidence gathering
- Pattern spotting
- Confusion clarification (no Googling first—argue it out)
- Mixed groups share insights
- Students teach each other their “expert lens”
- Analytical or creative writing
- Peer review using Joyce-specific criteria
Writing Pathways (Student Choice)
Analytical Options
- How Ulysses transforms the epic hero
- The role of the body and bodily functions
- Alienation and empathy in modern urban life
- Style as meaning: why how matters more than what
- A modern “Ulysses” episode set in one ordinary day
- Interior monologue of a marginalized or overlooked character
- A parody episode mimicking Joyce’s techniques
Assessment (Flexible & Humane)
Reading Portfolio
- Annotated excerpts
- Group artifacts
- Reflection logs (“What clicked? What didn’t?”)
- Depth of engagement (not total understanding)
- Use of textual evidence
- Risk-taking and experimentation
- Clarity of reflection
Culminating Project: One Day, Many Minds
Group Project Options
- Multimedia Dublin Day timeline
- Live or recorded dramatic reading of an episode
- Illustrated guide to surviving Ulysses
- Class-created “Reader’s Companion”