animal fictions

this course traces the development of the animal from medieval to postmodern times in fantasy and fable, looking closely at interspecies contact, animal voices in literature, modes of companionship, and desire

This course will survey the role of animals in fantasy literature from the medieval period to present day, examining issues of animal/human relations, animality and monstrosity, animal languages (both verbal and gestural), and the significance of the hunt within literatures and cultures of the fantastic. In order to track material representations of animal consciousness, we will examine a variety of non-literary texts in addition to novels, including textiles, sculpture, armor, stained glass, and architecture. We will encounter a variety of animals both real and imaginary, incuding cats, dogs, rabbits, bears, donkeys, dragons, and unicorns, supplemented by critical readings on animality that may blur the boundaries between the mythical and the zoological. We will also analyze two recent films which offer very different beast narratives: Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Spike Jonez' Where the Wild Things Are (2009).