Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2017 
    
2016-2017 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 241 - Magic, Monsters and Medievalism


Instructor
Ford

This course will explore fantasy literature that draws on medieval images, motifs, narrative traditions, and social configurations–texts that operate in the fictional mode known as “medievalism.” We will be especially interested in the possibilities opened up by the use of magic and monstrosity in these fictional worlds and will examine the ways that writers in various non-medieval contexts use monstrosity, magic, and medievalism for their own purposes. The readings will range from early modern fantasy narratives that draw on a medieval past to contemporary literary fantasy novels. These readings will be supported with selected texts from the literature of Middle Ages. By the end of the course, we will have not only read some wonderful fantasies but also outlined a literary history of medievalism. Students will be encouraged to develop projects that use the course framework to interpret the medievalisms of contemporary popular culture, including comics, genre fiction, film, television, and video games.

Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.