Magic for Beginners: 21st Century Fantasy
(not “Fanstasy,” as MyBama has it)
Spring 2009
3-5:30 p.m. Wednesdays
Teacher: Andy Duncan
E-mail is the best way to reach me. I'm also on Facebook.
All students in this class must be enrolled in the University Honors Program.
Texts:
Course Description: As a literary genre, fantasy includes Harry Potter, fairy tales, ghost stories, Dr. Seuss, The Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings and Dracula; small wonder Brian Attebery calls this ungainly, ill-defined assemblage of texts a “fuzzy set.” In this interdisciplinary class, we will investigate the possibilities of the impossible in the new century by focusing our crystal ball on a few fantasy texts published since the year 2003.
Course Objectives: By semester’s end, students will be more sophisticated consumers of fantasy, better able to discern the taproots of Story that underlie the hype; they also will be able to talk and write about it with more critical insight. No previous experience with magic is required.
Attendance policy: Attendance and class participation (in class and online) are required. After two absences, your final grade will be lowered one letter for each subsequent absence. After five absences, you will receive an F for this course. Arriving late or leaving early counts as half an absence. In case of illness, injury or crisis, let your teacher know as soon as possible. Don’t just vanish.
Papers: You will write two non-fiction papers, each at least 2,000 words long, plus Works Cited list, on topics of your choosing that are approved in advance by your teacher. Papers should pertain explicitly and in some depth to one or more of the fantasy texts being discussed in this class, but they may extend their focus beyond those texts as well. You will do a five-to-10-minute class presentation on each topic as you are working on it. Papers handed in late will be docked one letter grade for each day they’re late. Format requirements: Both your papers will be handed in electronically. Send them as PC-compatible Word attachments to this address. Papers must be in 12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced, with ragged right margins and page numbers in the upper-right corners. Papers that don’t fit this format will be returned unread for correction.
Blog: Each of you will receive (and accept) an invitation to join Blogger and the class blog at http://magicintro2009.blogspot.com. Here our class discussions will continue beyond Wednesday class meetings. Participating on the blog – through original posts and replies to others’ posts – is an important part of your semester grade, so get in the habit of visiting daily and contributing frequently. The minimum class requirement is three posts per week per student, at least one of which must start a new topic or thread, and at least one of which must be a response to a classmate’s post. More frequent posts are highly encouraged. Also chiming in from time to time may be invited guests from the world of fantasy publishing (as opposed to the fantasy world, which we all inhabit).
Other assignments and expectations: You will keep up with all the reading and will participate in all class discussions, orally and online. You will lead at least one class discussion of a text that has been assigned you.
Grade formula:
We will follow the UA guidelines for plus-minus grading.
Disabilities: In accordance with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, your teacher, the University Honors Program and the university are committed to providing appropriate support for students with disabilities, including learning disabilities. Any student who wants to request disability accommodations need only contact UA’s office of disability services at (205) 348-4285 and get the paperwork to me.
Academic misconduct: Academic misconduct includes all acts of academic dishonesty and any knowing attempt to help another student commit academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: (1) Cheating – using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids. (2) Plagiarism – representing words, data, works or ideas as one’s own when they are not. (3) Fabrication – presenting as genuine any invented or falsified evidence. (4) Misrepresentation – falsifying, altering or misstating the contents of academic documents such as schedules, prerequisites and transcripts. Cases of academic misconduct will be turned over to the University Honors Program for disciplinary action that could be as severe as suspension from the university.
Schedule of class meetings, reading assignments and due dates.
All readings will be discussed on the days listed. This is a living document, subject to change.
Jan. 7: Getting acquainted.
Jan. 14: Link, Pretty Monsters.
Jan. 21: No class.
Jan. 28: Link, Magic for Beginners.
Feb. 4: Gaiman, The Graveyard Book.
Feb. 11: Paper presentations.
Feb. 18: Ford, The Shadow Year.
Feb. 25: Del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth. First paper due.
March 4: Stories from The Year’s Best: Abraham, “The Cambist and Lord Iron”; Russell, “Vampires in the Lemon Grove”; Rickert, “Holiday”; McMahon, “Hum Drum”; Walther, “Splitfoot”; Brenchley, “The House of Mechanical Pain”; Fowler, “The Last Worders”; Ballingrud, “The Monsters of Heaven”; Sherman, “The Fiddler of Bayou Teche”; Hand, “Winter’s Wife.”
March 11: Stories from The Year’s Best: Ford, “The Drowned Life”; Tumasonis, “The Swing”; Gunn, “Up the Fire Road”; Anderson, “The Gray Boy’s Work”; Chiang, “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate”; Mead, “A Thing Forbidden.”
March 18: Spring break; no class.
March 25: Stories from The Year’s Best: Black, “A Reversal of Fortune”; Schanoes, “Rats”; Kemnitzer, “The Boulder”; Lee, “The Hill”; MacBride, “The Ape Man”; Williams, “The Hide”; Nix, “Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go To War Again”; Dowling, “Toother”; Tuttle, “Closet Dreams”; Johnson, “The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change.” Last day to drop without a grade.
April 1: Pratchett, The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky.
April 8: Pratchett, Wintersmith.
April 15: Joe Hill, 20th Century Ghosts.
April 22: Paper presentations.
April 29: Lima, Enchanted. Final class. Semester wrap-up.
Second paper due May 4, the Monday of exam week.
About your teacher: My collection Beluthahatchie and Other Stories (2000) won a World Fantasy Award, as did my story “The Pottawatomie Giant” (2000). My novella “The Chief Designer” (2001) won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best science fiction story of the year. I contributed essays to the Hugo Award-winning Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction (2003) and the Stoker Award-winning Horror: Another 100 Best Books (2005). With F. Brett Cox, I edited the fiction anthology Crossroads: Tales of the Southern Literary Fantastic (2004). I have taught at the Clarion and Clarion West writers’ workshops (2004 and 2005, respectively). My latest book, non-fiction, is Alabama Curiosities (2005); the second edition will be published in 2009. My latest stories are “A Diorama of the Infernal Regions, or The Devil’s Ninth Question” in the anthology Wizards, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois (Berkley, May 2007); “Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse” in the anthology Eclipse One, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Night Shade, November 2007), a story that was a finalist for the Nebula Award and the Shirley Jackson Award; and “The Dragaman’s Bride,” upcoming in The Dragon Book, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois (Berkley, 2009). My personal blog is http://beluthahatchie.blogspot.com.
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