ENGH 304: Topics: Literary Surveys

ENGH 304-B01: Heroes, Traditional and Fantastic
(Summer 2012)

07:20 PM to 10:00 PM MW

Section Information for Summer 2012

Many cultures project their ideals through the celebratory fantasies we call heroic narratives. Ideals, like cultures, are not static; for example, the popular conception of "hero" as Tennyson's Sir Galahad in the employ of a fire department is a product of a specific era, neither universal or constant. In this course, we will read and discuss a selection of these narratives from our oldest, and Gilgamesh, to contemporary works of fantasy.

Because hero stories are as interesting in what (and whom) they exclude as in what they include, we must become alert to the critical ironies as well as to the idealizations that are such a prominent feature of hero stories. What are the roles played by marginalized persons--the poor, the elderly, the female? In what ways do our texts offer critiques of the "heroic ethos"? Our texts will be selected from the following: Gilgamesh, Virgil's Aeneid, the Old English poems Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon; Chretien de Troyes' Knight of the Lion (Yvain); Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; and the contemporary writers J.R.R. Tolkien, Robin McKinley, Frank Herbert, Lian Hearn, and David Malouf.

Much reading, several short "reading papers," three extended essays (4-5pp), and a final examination. A. Rutledge rutledge@gmu.edu

Course Information from the University Catalog