Fantasy Literature

This course seeks to instill in you an understanding of the development of the genre of modern fantasy literature, and of the generic distinctions and theoretical frameworks commonly applied to it. In addition to the predominantly nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first century texts themselves, the course will explore the modern fantasy genre as a product of histories of ideas stretching from centuries past to the present day. With a syllabus spanning from medievalism to modernity via magic, the course welcomes all students interested in exploring the broad genre of fantasy, and the imaginative processes and ideological traditions thereof. In addition to exploring the farthest reaches of the literary imagination, you will also gain - paradoxical though it may seem - an understanding of how these authors and texts negotiate universal themes relating to the realities of human existence, including myth-making, modernisation and the environment.