I’m teaching a new course this semester, a 200-level speculative literature class, and I’m focusing it on fantasy. (I did SF last semester). Thought some of you might like to read along — I may post notes occasionally.
So far, I think the students are liking the material, but a bit bewildered by the juxtaposition of brutal incidents and a cheerful, often whimsical tone…
All readings so far from Ann VanderMeer and Jeff Vandermeer’s _Big Book of Classic Fantasy_.
*****
Here’s the first 4 weeks:
Weeks 1-4: 1808 – 1893
Week 1:
M 1/8: In class: “The Queen’s Son,” Bettina von Armin (1808)
W 1/10: finish reading “The Queen’s Son,” “Introduction,” by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
F 1/12: “Hans-My-Hedgehog,” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1815), “The Story of the Hard Nut,” by E.T.A. Hoffman
Week 2:
M 1/15 – NO CLASS: MLK Day
W 1/17: “Rip Van Winkle,” by Washington Irving (1819), “The Luck of the Bean-Rows,” by Charles Nodier, “The Nest of Nightingales,” by Théophile Gaultier (1833)
F 1/19: “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,” by Edgar Allen Poe (1845), “The Story of Jeon Unchi,” by Anonymous (translated by Minsoo Kang) (1847?)
Week 3:
M 1/22: “Feathertop,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1852), “The Frost King,” by Louisa May Alcott (1855)
W 1/24: “The Tartarus of Maids,” by Herman Melville (1855), “The Magic Mirror,” by George MacDonald (1858)
F 1/26: “Goblin Market,” by Christina Rosetti (1896), “The Will o’ the Wisps are in Town,” by Hans Christian Andersen (1865)
Week 4:
M 1/29: “Looking-Glass House,” by Lewis Carroll (1871, “Furnica, or The Queen of the Ants,” by Carmen Sylva (1893)
W 1/31: “The Story of Iván the Fool,” by Leo Tolstoy (1886), “The Goophered Grapevine,” by Charles W. Chestnutt (1887)
F 2/2: “The Remarkable Rocket,” by Oscar Wilde (1888)