HENB0114EU English - Elective 3, topic 2: Literature of the Fantastic

Volume 2016/2017
Education

Engelsk

Content

The course offers a historical survey of fantasy and fantastic literature. The fantastic has always been popular with readers, although it was for a long time considered to be a substandard mode of literature. Since J.R.R. Tolkien, however, it has become a major publishing phenomenon. We will examine the history and conventions of fantasy writing through discussions of notable examples of the genre – from the monster tale Beowulf to Game of Thrones. We will chart the fantasy subgenres (such as gothic fantasy, lost-world fantasy and portal fantasy), while exploring a range of seminal critical approaches to the fantastic. A general question we will raise with many of the texts is how the uses of the fantastic can be seen to reflect contemporary preoccupations and cultural anxieties. Among the authors we will read are Edgar Allen Poe, Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis, Arthur Conan Doyle and J.R.R. Tolkien. 

  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 42
  • Preparation
  • 162,75
  • Total
  • 204,75
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Other
Criteria for exam assesment