Myths and Legends

ENGL 21500 Inventing Languages
“Invented languages” include linguistic systems created for fictional worlds, such as Dothraki (Game of Thrones), Na’vi (Avatar), Elvish (Lord of the Rings) and Klingon (Star Trek), as well as languages invented for international communication by real speakers, such as Esperanto.  In this course, you will study these systems, learn the major properties of natural human languages, and construct your own rudimentary languages.

Class Flyer for Spring 2019 class
 

ENGL 21700 Monsters (Figures of Myth and Legend 1)
This course traces specific monster case studies across a variety of genres and media from the ancient to the modern period.  It explores the way monsters define and police the boundaries of what it means to be human, and provide a common language for crystallizing specific social, ethnic, and national practices.

Class Flyer for Fall 2018 Dragons class

ENGL 21800 Figures of Myth and Legend 2: Heroes and Villains
This class offers in-depth explorations of the larger-than-life leaders (on the side of good, and sometimes evil, too) who have become models for how we think of heroism, charisma, and what it means to seek and wield power over others. From the chivalric Knights of the Round Table to the frightening energy of the Viking comitatus bands, it will show that no models of mythic leadership come without their complications–or admirable qualities.

Class Flyer for Fall 2017 Pirates class (formerly ENGL 232)

ENGL 21900 Figures of Myth and Legend 3: Magic & Marvels
This course surveys stories of wizards, witches, and more, exploring the allure of all things marvelous, strange, and magical.  It considers how language itself constitutes a kind of magic; examines magic as technology, or vice versa; and seeks to understand how people across history have used stories of magic to reinforce or upend the status quo.

Class Flyer for Spring 2017 Tolkien class (formerly ENGL 232)