Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH Fantasy and fandom: writing back to the medieval in modern fantasy
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	English Literature
Module Code	09 22837
Module Lead
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	none
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	From heroes and quests to magic and hidden identities, modern fantasy has looked to the literature of the medieval period for inspiration. Yet it has also consistently transformed and reshaped its source material, rewriting the significance of key motifs and ideas in order to address the issues of its own time and place of production. This module will examine the ways in which modern fantasy writing both adopts and adapts the culture, language, characters and narratives of medieval texts, and in so doing identifies its authors as an (albeit diverse) fandom. Although not fanfiction in the strictest terms, modern fantasy writing often shares with it the desire to extend and appropriate the plots and protagonists of earlier texts, and to challenge or re-examine them by writing in an avatar who explores the textual world in a metaphorical representation of the author¿s own discovery of the original work. This module will look at forerunners for this in the medieval period too, and will encourage students to analyse the communally-driven nature of textual production and circulation in the Middle Ages, as well as the communities of interest which have written fantasy in response, from the late nineteenth century to the present. The module will provide the opportunity to examine a range of fantasy writing, which may include texts from George MacDonald and William Morris through C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien to contemporary writers such as Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, J. K. Rowling and Ursula LeGuin.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module the student should be able to: ¿Demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge of a range of works of modern fantasy literature ¿Identify key genres and texts in medieval literature and locate them in relation to modern fantasy writing ¿Analyse and evaluate fantasy writing in the light of current critical debates and in relation to fandom and fan fiction ¿Use close reading skills to analyse fantasy texts in relation to their relevant historical and cultural contexts
Assessment	22837-03 : 4,000 word essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	4,000 word essay (100%)
Other
Reading List