THIS IS A GEP CLASS THAT WILL NOT APPLY TOWARD THE MAJOR OR MINOR AS A LITERARY HISTORY CLASS.

Trickster figures will be the focus of this survey of early world literature. We will examine this complex character at various times, spaces, and places, from the Greeks to the Mayans to Shakespeare. We will investigate how these figures work within and beyond their varied cultural contexts. Sometimes, our discussion will focus on individual characters, sometimes it may focus on authors, and sometimes the trickster element will be more implicit than explicit.

POST-1865 and DIVERSITY.

This section of Topics in Popular Fiction is subtitled “Tales from the Other(ed) Side: Literary Re-visions.” We will read contemporary retellings that are based on a variety of texts, including Greek & Roman epics, fairy & folk tales, myths, legends, and more. It isn’t necessary for you to know all of the “original” texts before you read these retellings although it may be more enjoyable if you do know them. One of our collective goals this semester will be to explore those older texts from different angles and to consider how and why these newer, updated versions might still be relevant.