There are no pre-requisites for this module to be added

The module is about the development of the fantasy genre. A number of identifiable genre conventions govern the characters, tropes, and narratives of fantasy texts. You will explore where these genre conventions come from, and how they operate within specific fantasy texts; the module begins with fantasy’s origins in myths and fairy-tales, before moving on to fantasy texts from the nineteenth century up to the present day to examine the legacy of early fantastic stories in modern fiction and film.

You will consider how fantasy writers and filmmakers respond to existing genre conventions and to the works of fantasy that preceded their own, asking how far it is possible to resist or subvert the familiar trappings of the fantasy genre. You will examine different strategies used by fantasy texts in response to the expectations of genre conventions, explore how fantasy reflects, shapes, and interrogates culture, and analyse the contributions of specific texts’ medium and form to how they do so.

You will examine the contributions made by visual elements of media like film, television, and graphic novels to a text’s handling of genre conventions and intertextuality, and reflect on why fantasy remains so popular, considering reasons for the continued appeal of this mode of storytelling to readers and viewers. You will therefore explore theories of genre, intertextuality, affect, and entertainment, and consider the value of pleasure and enjoyment in the experience of reading and watching fantasy tales.

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the history and development of fantasy traditions.
2. Recognise and explain the workings of recurrent genre tropes and intertextuality in fantasy.
3. Show secure understanding of how fantasy texts interact with their historical and cultural contexts.
4. Demonstrate awareness and understanding of critical and theoretical approaches to the interpretation of fantasy.
5. Analyse the literary, cinematic, and/or visual techniques used in specific fantasy texts and discuss their purposes or effects.