Seminar in Reading and Interpretation (300-0-21)

Topic

Time-traveling Heroes of the Multiverse

Instructors

Johana Staza Godfrey

Meeting Info

University Hall 318: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

Topic: Time-traveling Heroes of the Multiverse!: History and Cultural Difference in Modern Fiction

Since H.G. Wells's unnamed time-traveler first rocketed forward to the distant future, time travel has been a favorite thought exercise for writers, day-dreamers, and artists. In this course, we'll the genre from its origins in the nineteenth-century. We'll combine readings of literary classics like H.G. Wells's The Time Machine (1895) and Virginia Woolf's Orlando (1928), with selections from children's literature like Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time (1962), theory like Mark Fisher's work on lost futures, and modern, mixed-media additions to the canon, including episodes of the anime Tatami Galaxy (2006) and the movies Interstellar (2014) and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). How do traditional coming of age narratives change in non-linear time? Can and should history be preserved? Students will confront questions about cultural difference and blur the boundaries between "past," "present," and "future."

Teaching Method

Short lectures, seminar discussion, collaborative group exercises.

Evaluation Method

Participation, discussion posts, short analytical paper, final project.

Class Materials (Required)

H.G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895); Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843); Virginia Woolf, Orlando (1928); Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time (1962); Mamoru Hosada, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006); Christopher Nolan, Interstellar (2014); the Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Texts will be available at: Orlando (ISBN 9780241371961) and A Wrinkle in Time (ISBN 9780312367541) at Norris, all others on Canvas.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Attendance at 1st class mandatory