Imagined Worlds

‘Say a body. Where none. ... A place. Where none.’ As Samuel Beckett’s Worstward Ho reminds us, literary texts have an unsurpassed capacity to create imaginary worlds. This course will examine a range of textual forms and genres, storytelling and knowledges including those of First Nations writers, as well as readings from a range of cultures and historical periods. You will examine the techniques through which literary texts create worlds, whether realistic worlds that reflect and respond to the writer’s own time and place, or fantastic worlds that imagine times and places, creatures and cultures, far different from past or present reality. Through taking this course you will develop skills in careful reading, independent scholarly research, and persuasive writing, as well as participating in an intellectual community through attentive listening, thoughtful response and respectful debate.