This course focuses on fantasy literature, film, and television, and draws on a wide range of critical, cultural, and theoretical approaches. As it explores the magical and supernatural, it may consider such genres as alternative histories, animal fantasy, epic, fairy tales, magic realism, and swords and sorcery. Authors and texts covered will survey the history of fantasy across American, British, and Canadian literature, and may include Beowulf, Octavia Butler, Lewis Carroll, Neil Gaiman, Ursela K. Le Guin, C.S. Lewis, George R. R. Martin, Ovid, J.K. Rowling, Shakespeare, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Jonathan Swift, and J. R. R. Tolkien.
Open to students who have successfully completed at least 4.0 full credits. Students who do not meet the prerequisite but are enrolled in any 100-level ENG or DRE course (except ENG100H5) may petition the department in writing for approval to take the course. See the guidelines for written petitions on the department website.