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COL 115

Imaginary Worlds
COL 115 FA

Crosslistings: HUM 115
SectionClass Size*AvailableTimesPOIPrereq
1 24 0 Times: .T.T... 1:10PM-2:30PM;NoNo

*The number of spaces listed as available is based on class seats open for the Blue Add phase of registration. Some seats may be taken in previous phases while others may be held out for subsequent phases of registration. (Last Updated on Tue Aug 10 05:00:30 EDT 1999 )

When T.S. Eliot observed that "humankind cannot bear very much reality," he was not underestimating the human imagination; he was recognizing its powers very clearly. Known in antiquity and the Middle Ages as the faculty for mixing and matching images, associated by Shakespeare's Renaissance Theseus with "the lunatic, the lover, and the poet," the imagination emerged in the Romantic Era as the privileged possession of peasants and children. It had become both vehicle and symbol of resistance to the civilizing project of an increasingly commercial and industrial culture. Not surprisingly, therefore, over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the alternative worlds created by imagination became, for Western Imperialist culture, a hotly contested terrain. This course explores the terrain of the imagination with the aim of developing an understanding of its powers that is both documentary and experiential. Participants will read a series of tales from collections both canonical (by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen) and noncanonical (by Oscar Wilde, Angela Carter) and then a selection of major narratives that associate alternative worlds with childhood (by Lewis Carroll, Frank Baum, James Barrie). Finally, they will explore a contemporary imaginary world created by a writer of their own choosing and, individually and collaboratively, create their own imaginary worlds.

MAJOR READINGS

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, THE COMPLETE FAIRY
TALES OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM
Hans Christian Andersen, THE COMPLETE FAIRY TALES OF HANS
CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
Oscar Wilde, THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES
Angela Carter, editor, THE VIRAGO BOOK OF FAIRY TALES
Lewis Carroll, ALICE IN WONDERLAND and THROUGH THE LOOKING
GLASS
Frank Baum, THE WIZARD OF OZ
James Barrie, PETER PAN
Bruno Bettleheim, Jacqueline Rose, Maria Tatar, J.R.R.
Tolkien, Marina Warner, Jack Zipes: theoretical and cultural
essays.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Thoughtful preparation, dedicated participation in class discussion, two interpretive essays and one creative project.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA COL

Prerequisites: None

Section 01
Weissman, H
Times: .T.T... 1:10PM- 2:30PM;
Grading Mode: Mixed
Registration Preference (1 high to 6 low, 0=Excluded) Sr: 0, Jr: 0, So: 0, Fr: 1
No Major Preference Given

Last Updated on MAR-22-1999




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