Bruce Edwards appointed C.S. Lewis Fellow

After devoting much of his life to the study of author C.S. Lewis, Bruce Edwards has been chosen to live and work in Lewis’s former home this summer. Edwards has been appointed a 2004 C.S. Lewis Fellow by the C.S. Lewis Foundation.

Bruce Edwards

Edwards, associate dean for international programs and distance learning in Continuing and Extended Education, will be teaching two, one-week seminars this July and August in Oxford, England, on the life and work of the Anglo-Irish writer and world-renowned literary scholar, Christian apologist and author of the popular Chronicles of Narnia.

“The unique and most rewarding aspect of this appointment is that I get to be housed and teach my seminars at the ‘Kilns,’ which is Lewis’ former home in Oxford,” Edwards explained. “That is a special thrill.”

There are eight students selected for each session who will be involved in an intensive study of Lewis’ works under Edwards’ direction. The participants will also be able to take guided tours of Oxford and Cambridge during the seminars and will visit locales where Lewis and friends like J.R.R. Tolkien met for mutual critique and encouragement in their creative writing.

“The announcement that Disney will be producing movies from the Chronicles of Narnia is simply going to increase the interest and popularity of Lewis,” Edwards predicted.

Edwards, who has a joint appointment in English, has published two books on Lewis and wrote his doctoral dissertation at the University of Texas-Austin on the author. He also created and maintains a popular Web site on Lewis that has brought him many inquiries and dozens of speaking engagements around the world.

He has lectured and conducted workshops on Lewis’s literary works on four continents, most recently in Nairobi, Kenya. He has just completed teaching a summer online undergraduate course on Lewis he created specifically for BGSU students.

The C.S. Lewis Foundation is a U.S.-based agency that promotes the study and appreciation of Lewis’ work on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world.