ENGLISH
495FL:
Fantasy Literature and the Art of World-Building
Senior Seminar in
Literature (course #18169), Fall 2006
Tuesdays & Thursdays,
9:30-10:45am
Sierra Hall 310
Prof.
Charles Hatfield
Office ph. 818.677.3416
(CSUN x3416)
Preferred email:
prof_hatfield@sbcglobal.net
Class website:
http://www.csun.edu/~ch76854/495FL
Office
hours for Fall 2006:
Mondays 2:30-3:30pm
Tuesdays/Thursdays
11:00am – 12:00pm
Plus alternate times by
appointment!
Do take advantage of my
office hours! That’s the best way to talk to me about your
research interests,
work-in-progress, grades, and other concerns
that require more than a minute’s chat.
catalog
copy: “Intensive study of a major British or American author or of a
literary theme or sub-genre. Reports and seminar papers required” (2006-2008
CSUN Catalog, page blank).
prerequisites: Senior standing and
either 6 units of lower-division literature courses or 3 units of
lower-division literature plus English 355.
methods: Discussion and (occasional) lectures, much reading and writing, and
various class activities including presentations.
Questing: a description
& rationale:
Fantasy
literature often concerns journeys: long, life-transforming journeys beyond the
lands we know, into uncharted or nonhuman territories that are faraway,
enticing, and yet forbidding too. From Bilbo Baggins’ journey to the Lonely
Mountain and back, to Thomas Rhymer’s seven-year sojourn in Elfland, to Ged’s
passage to the far East Reach of Earthsea, fantasy often focuses on the voyage
from home, the immersive, transformative trip from the familiar to the magical.
Perhaps it is
this idea of flight that has led so many to dismiss fantasy fiction as merely
“escapist” (as if reading proper literature involved no element of escape).
Certainly fantasy has been contrasted, pejoratively, with realistic literary
fiction, and in some corners of the world that dismissal continues. Not
entirely without reason, perhaps, as the recent mushrooming of fantasy as a
market genre has produced a great deal of formulaic, unchallenging stuff.
But the voyage
from the mundane to the fantastic is not simply about escape. It can change our
thinking, reinterpret our lives to us, and reframe our understanding of the world
– and of literature. Fantasy has a rich potential for metaphor and can be
imaginatively radical, carrying a thought-provoking, subversive charge. The
fantastical imagination is at the root of the literary world tree: the impulse
to fantasy, as seen in everything from Beowulf
to The Tempest to Gulliver’s Travels, is one of the
foundations of what we do as students of literature.
So, the trek is
worth the trouble. It is in this spirit of journeying that I offer English
495FL, which represents a departure from traditional or canonical ideas of
literature into territory hardly unknown but, academically speaking, still in
the process of being “mapped.” As we traverse this territory, we will study the
nature and history of literary fantasy, paying attention both to historically
important sources, such as Arthurian romance, Norse myth, and folk balladry,
and to recent developments in the genre such as the rise of so-called urban
fantasy.
Our special
focus will be how fantasy builds fictive worlds: either fantastical worlds entirely
apart from our own, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth or Ursula Le Guin’s
Earthsea, or worlds linked to our own, as in the “portal” fantasies of Lewis
Carroll and C.S. Lewis or the contemporary fantasies of Terri Windling and Tim Powers.
Though we’ll
touch on such time-honored sources as Beowulf
and Arthurian legend, much of our
reading will come from contemporary fiction typically found in the “Science
Fiction &
Fantasy” section of today’s
bookstore (get to know that section, if you don’t already). Of course we’ll
also look at the roots of the field, including seminal nineteenth and early
twentieth-century practitioners. In particular, we’ll study Tolkien and his
concept of fictive subcreation, as
modeled in the building of his personal mythos, Middle Earth. This idea of
subcreation will inform our later discussions, as we move beyond Tolkien to the
contemporary scene.
Our course aims to give you an
introduction (for some of you perhaps a reintroduction) to a rich literary
tradition and a thriving contemporary genre. Note that, because fantasy is a
diverse, multimedia field, the course has the potential to be not only about
literature but also about cultural studies in the broad sense. I’ve built our
syllabus with an eye toward literary quality, of course, but your research and
our discussions may also touch on popular manifestations of fantasy in such
fields as gaming, fan fiction, and film. These phenomena
are very much a part of the genre and help shape the fanbase for fantasy literature.
So feel free to bring up these subjects!
About the reading load: This is a course for those who love to read. So read
often, read everywhere, and, when possible, read ahead! One of our core topics
will be high fantasy, that is, fantasy set in secondary worlds which, ideally,
are deeply imagined, deeply involving, and internally consistent. To create
such an immersive story-world takes time, and so the genre tends toward long,
even labyrinthine books, the kind of books that appeal to readers for whom
getting lost in the reading is a goal in itself. Such books are tough to work
into an academic schedule, I know, and I’ve done what I can to represent the
genre without getting too lost in the
pages of epics – but, still, heavy reading is a prerequisite of fantasy. It
goes with the course. So be prepared! (Bear in mind that, besides the required
readings we do together, you’ll have to do much reading on your own in order to
fulfill the course requirements.)
Course Objectives:
As a reminder, English 495 courses are
meant to assess the skills of outgoing seniors in the major. 495FL has been
designed to fulfill that mission by giving you multiple opportunities to
demonstrate core skills in research, writing, and presenting. My more specific
aims for 495FL are to help each of you work toward:
Ó informed appreciation
of modern and contemporary fantasy literature, including broad
knowledge of its history, source traditions, and enduring subgenres;
Ó confident understanding
of key critical terms in the study of fantasy literature;
Ó heightened ability
to discuss fantasy literature critically in relation to other literary
and popular traditions and to contemporary media and culture;
Ó and, as in
any senior seminar in literature, further practice in and honing of the analytical,
rhetorical, and research skills necessary for success in the field of
English Studies.
My main hope is that you’ll leave 495FL
with a new perspective on fantasy fiction, including some guiding terms and new
questions that will help you “read around” in the genre more mindfully and with
greater pleasure, whether you came to the course as a fan or as a newcomer.
Course Requirements:
Your
semester grade will be based on how successfully you fulfill the following five
tasks:
Ó Participation
(40 points, or 10%):
This includes attendance, of course, but also
alertness, preparedness, and willingness to contribute to discussion and other
in-class activities. Don’t worry if you’re not super-talkative, or a
natural-born ringleader, but try to make a positive difference every time! The
value of a seminar depends upon its participants.
Ó Response
papers (120 points, or 30%):
These brief papers (2-3 pages each) will
sometimes focus on specific tasks or questions posed by me, and at other times
consist of your own, self-directed responses to certain readings. Expect to
complete six such response papers over the semester.
Ó Presentation (100
points, or 25%):
This 10 to 15-minute in-class oral presentation
should introduce your classmates to a secondary world developed in a work of
high fantasy, be that work a novel, a series of novels, a cycle of short
stories, a graphic novel or comic book series, a game, or other format (or some
combination of the above). Your exact topic must be approved by me beforehand.
The presentation should offer an analysis or critique of the world-building in
your chosen work. You may want to make comparisons to works that we have read
as a group, so as to place your topic in a helpful context. You may also wish
to consider the cultural sources or inspirations of this secondary world,
including, for instance, elements adapted from mythic or folkloric traditions.
Another option could be to perform an ideological critique of the implicit
cultural outlook behind this secondary world. (Another alternative could be to
present your own created world, provided it is well-researched, well-developed,
and distinctive. See me early about this if you’re interested.)
Ó Research
proposal & annotated bibliography (40 points, or 10%):
This brief proposal (c. 250 to 750 words, that
is, ½ to 1½ pages) will be due at mid-term. It should be accompanied by an
annotated MLA bibliography of not less than four scholarly sources, at least
two of which must be in print rather than online form. The purpose of this
proposal is to establish the research problem, agenda, and some possible
sources for your:
Ó Critical
essay (100 points, or 25%):
This essay will consist of a critical analysis of
a particular work or issue in the field of fantasy (this may include media and
pastimes other than literature). The topic will be of your own choosing, and
refined through dialogue between you and me, dialogue prompted by your research
proposal. This paper will serve as your final, summative assessment in the
course.
Extra Credit work may be available, at
my discretion, to students who have made a sincere effort to fulfill all course
requirements and who have maintained at least a “C” in Participation. Note that
Extra Credit cannot exceed 80 points (that is, 20%). Do not submit Extra Credit
work without prior consultation with and approval from me (this means a
conference in my office). See our class
website, <http://www.csun.edu/~ch76854/495FL>, for Extra Credit ideas.
Policies:
Know your dates and procedures! Consult the Catalog and schedule of
classes for information regarding changes of program, withdrawals, and
incompletes. You are responsible for knowing this information.
I do not accept paper submissions via email.
Timeliness and planning are crucial: Our schedule is
relentless; we’ll be sprinting from the first week to the last. Late work will
therefore pose real trouble, for you and for me. So, papers not ready to be
handed in at the START of class on
the due date will immediately be docked twenty percent, grade-wise, and papers
handed in more than two days late will be docked fifty percent. I will not accept
papers more than a week late. Also, in-class presentations, once scheduled,
cannot be postponed – so schedule your work deliberately!
I value attendance. I want to stress this.
Missed in-class activities, such as discussion and group work, cannot be made
up, and these are crucial to the course. Note that the only absences I discount
in my grading are medical or family
emergencies, family bereavements, and major professional commitments. If you
must miss more than two days due to emergency, please provide strong
documentation (e.g., a doctor’s letter) so that I may fairly take this into
account. Finally, do not plan on being away during the last week of the
term; our final meeting, Thursday, 12/21,
from 8:00-10:00am, is just as important to our plans as any other meeting.
N Plagiarism: a reminder: Passing off the words, ideas, or work of
another as your own, without properly crediting your source, is plagiarism and constitutes an academic
crime. This serious breach of conduct is discussed at length in CSUN’s
2004-2006 Catalog (pp. 531-532). To avoid plagiarism, be sure to acknowledge all ideas
and quotations from other sources. Keep accurate notes when
working from other texts, and recheck citations and quotations at every step of
your writing process. Also, whenever
your sources go beyond the shared readings listed in our syllabus (below),
be sure to give full bibliographical
information in the form of a properly formatted MLA bibliography.
Be advised that I deal with plagiarism by seeking the strongest penalties
possible under CSUN policy.
All written work outside of class should be typewritten and should follow
standard academic paper format: a double-spaced page with at least one-inch
margins all round; a plain, unobtrusive typefont (such as Times New Roman) at
11 or 12-point size; consistent page numbering; and, please, no needless report covers or other
plastic gewgaws.
Ahem! Phones and pagers should be
silenced
before entering the classroom. Also, refrain from laptop use not directly
related to class (e.g., Netsurfing, IM-ing). If you’re that involved with your
gadgets, then, in my book, you’re absent.
Campus resources: some
reminders:
Students with
disabilities that affect their work may qualify for accommodations. Such
students are urged to work with the
Course reserves: If you don’t know it
already, get to know the Reserves, Periodicals, & Microform (RPM) room in
the Oviatt Library (4th floor, east wing). I may be placing both
required and supplementary readings on reserve there. Because I’m still in the
process of investigating the library’s resources in the fantasy genre, I don’t
yet know how much we’ll end up using the RPM; still, it’s a good idea to
(re)familiarize yourself ASAP.
The Writing Center: Looking for strategies to
polish your writing? Try the
Computer Labs: Our Library runs a 40-station lab in Sierra
Hall 392 as well as a 170-seat lab in the Library called the Collaboratory (3rd
floor). Call the Collaboratory service desk at 677-6304 or see
<http://library.csun.edu/Library_Services/openlabs.html>.
Required texts:
(available at the Matador
except as noted; prices given are “list” New):
š Douglas A. Anderson, ed.,
Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern
Fantasy (Del Rey, $7.50)
š Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (
š
Seamus Heaney, trans., Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Norton, 13.95)
š Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea (Spectra, 7.99)
š Richard Mathews, Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination
(Routledge, 22.95)
š Michael Moorcock, Wizardry & Wild Romance: A Study of Epic
Fantasy (MonkeyBrain Books, 18.95)
š Tim Powers, Last Call (
š J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (Del Rey, 7.99)
š Terri Windling, The Wood Wife (Tor, 6.99)
š Gene Wolfe, The Knight (Tor, 14.95)
š Recommended: Ellen Datlow and Kelly
Link & Gavin J. Grant, eds., The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2006: 19th
Annual Collection (
On a final, personal note,
I should acknowledge
that 495FL represents a voyage of rediscovery for me, since I gobbled up
fantasy as a teen but then fell out of touch with the genre. As I prepared for
495FL, I learned that the intervening years have transformed the genre into
something much more diverse and mainstream. Contemporary fantasy has produced,
is producing, both a mudslide of familiar genre stuff and, more importantly, a
wealth of startlingly new, groundbreaking fiction. So, with a tip of the wand
to my good friend Steve, who recommended certain titles and authors to me, I’m
eager to undertake this latest quest.