This course analyses the ways in which fantasies operate across a range of media and examine the communities and audiences that produce and consume them. It takes its examples principally from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The first part of the course looks at different forms of media, including art, film, television, animation, comics and games, focusing on the particular affordances which these provide for constructing fantastic narratives and on the ways in which they interact with each other. The second part discusses collaborative practices including reviewing, fan fiction, conventions and award ceremonies, considering how fantasy works are valued and exploring the ways in which communities have built up around them.

10 x 2hr seminars (one a week for ten weeks)

1 x 10-minute seminar presentation - 10%

1 x 1,500-word comparative exercise (submitted as a mid-term) - 30%

1 x 3,000-word final essay - 60%

This course provides students with the opportunity to:

■ Explore the literary media beyond prose and poetry in which works of Fantasy have regularly appeared, including art, television, film, animation, comics and games.

■ Look at processes of adaptation and reimplementation across different media.

■ Consider the communities that have accrued around the Fantasy genre, examining reviews, fan fiction, conventions and prizes, employing sociological and cultural-historical analysis.

■ Discuss the ways in which Fantasy operates as a shared or collaborative mode of discourse.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Analyse the advantages and limitations of different forms of media for constructing Fantasy narratives.

■ Evaluate the ways in which different Fantasy media inform and compete with each other, with a particular focus on multiform and hybrid works.

■ Interrogate the ways in which collaborations and communities feed into Fantasy works and the larger Fantasy genre.

■ Conduct critical work that brings works of Fantasy into conversation with formalist, cultural-historical and sociological perspectives.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.