''A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...'' The genres of fantasy and science fiction are vital aspects of modernity. Their vitality reflected in the resonance of this epigraph from the Star Wars films, embodied in the vast popularity of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, exemplified by the flourishing subculture associated with Star Trek. This unit studies the 'mythistories' (to use William McNeill's apt term) of these genres: the ways in which they have combined cultural creativity and historical memory to imagine alternative pasts and presents, or extrapolate futures. At the same time, the unit examines the emergence of fantasy and science fiction within the crisis-ridden twentieth... -- Course Website
Instructor: Professor Robert Stuart
Prerequisites: a Level 2 History unit
