The Fantastic in 19th and 20th Century Literature (SML3035)

15 credits

What is ‘fantastic’ literature? Why do fantastic themes (such as the ghost, the double, the living portrait, the fragmented body, metamorphosis...) have so much appeal for the imagination of modern writers and readers alike? What’s the relationship between the fantastic, the supernatural, magic, and rational thought? You will take a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to explore fantastic literature and its historical development through the 19th and 20th centuries. You will examine key themes and motifs of the fantastic through a selection of crucial texts from different literatures that you will read either in your own language of study or in English translation.