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Courses & Schedules
English 189-1 - Spring, 2016
Seminar in Literary Studies
Topic: Wandering Knights, Errant Detectives
Class Information
Instructor:
Vernon, Matthew
CRN:
42621
Time:
TR 12:10-1:30
Location:
308 Voorhies
Description
The quest narrative appears throughout English literature in unexpected places. Over the course of the quarter we will consider the history of the quest in a wide range of forms: medieval romance, the Harry Potter novels, noir films and Edgar Allan Poe’s detective stories. In doing so we will discuss the ways in which the quest narrative transforms and adapts to contemporary issues and the ways in which the Middle Ages continue to influence popular culture.
Texts
Macbeth
, William Shakespeare
The Big Sleep
, Raymond Chandler
Ready Player One
, Ernest Cline
Detective Stories
, Edgar Allan Poe
The Maltese Falcon
, Dashiell Hammett
The Buried Giant
, Kazuo Ishiguro
Arthurian Romances
, Chretien de Troyes
The Road
, Cormac McCarthy
Njal's Saga
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
