Facilitator Preparation
The facilitator of this course should be very familiar with the television
series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel.
Ideally, a facilitator will have watched both series in their entirety at least
once. It helps to have read at least one of the unofficial episode guides as
well. In addition, a facilitator should re-watch each week's episodes before
presenting them.
This course relies on presenting two episodes as part of each session. Each
session should run about 150 minutes, allowing time for discussion of the first
episode before going to the second (which may not be appropriate if the two
episodes for a session are a two-part story), as well as time for the
discussion questions after the episodes. The course draws on episodes from all
seven seasons of Buffy, and season 1 of Angel. The
facilitator will need to have access to DVDs for these seasons.
This course is accessible to people who have never seen an episode of Buffy,
as well as to people who have seen all the episodes multiple times. Having this
mix of experience makes an interesting discussion group. It can also be
presented as an intergenerational course, although the discussion sections of
such a group might be very different from an adults-only discussion group.
Each session's notes should be sent to the members of the group prior to the
session. For those who are being exposed to Buffy for the first time,
a background section is included in the weekly notes that provides a quick
catch-up for the newbies.
Prior to the course, the facilitator should send the "Introduction" and "Notes"
sections to the group members.
This course was inspired by the book What Would Buffy Do? By Jana
Riess. I strongly recommend reading What Would Buffy Do? before
teaching this course. Most topics in this course are based on chapters in the
book, although the order of topics is different in order to keep the episodes
in somewhat chronological order. The bibliography section for the course lists
a number of additional books which may be of interest; I would particularly
recommend Proverbs of Ashes and If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill
Him! as they are excellent first-person accounts of difficult life
journeys. Each session contains a short list of references which may be of
interest for the specific topic.
Above all else, have fun with this course. It's a wonderful way to build your
community. The first group to go through this course still meets twice a month
to watch Buffy together. May you also find your own Scooby Gang with
this course.
Diane Wilson
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh
diane@firelily.com