This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
Theoretical interest in the fantastic has increasingly developed over recent decades following the seminal studies by Todorov, The Fantastic (1973), Rosemary Jackson, Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion (1981) and Neil Cornwell, The Literary Fantastic: From Gothic to Postmodernism (1990). Liminal figures poised between life and death: spirits, shades, ghosts, monsters, mediums, devils, vampires, revenants, werewolves, and so on, abound in literature of all times, classical and modern. Such figures function as shadowy symbols of our innermost fears and anxieties, as well as potent semantic signifiers at the intersections of gender, politics, and empire. In this module, students will explore modern works of the fantastic, the uncanny, and the paranormal from around the world in conversation with a range of critical perspectives. The comparative nature of the module will also afford an opportunity to enhance understanding of the literatures studied in their respective cultural and historical contexts.
Total Contact Hours: 20
Total Private Study Hours: 280
Total Study Hours: 300
Main assessment methods
Essay (5,000 words) – 100%
Reassessment methods
100% Coursework (5000 words)
The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices. The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages: https://kent.rl.talis.com/index.html
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of a comparative approach to the study of literature;
2 Demonstrate a critical awareness of major developments in the concept of the fantastic as a literary genre with special reference to Sigmund Freud and Tzvetan Todorov;
3 Demonstrate systematic understanding of relevant literary, theoretical, and philosophical debates;
4 Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the intersections of the literary and theories of the fantastic;
5 Demonstrate a critical awareness of theories of the fantastic not as disembodied sets of ideas but as forces within institutions and/or reading communities.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Demonstrate an advanced ability to read closely and critically, and to apply a range of critical terms and methodologies;
2 Engage critically and systematically with recent criticism;
3 Demonstrate refined communication skills, including the structuring of a sustained and original argument and the ability to convey information in an effective way;
4 Demonstrate independent research skills;
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