English 110ff. Medieval Fanfiction

Instructor: Anna Wilson
Tuesday & Thursday, 1:30-2:45pm | Location: TBD

Fanfiction is a surprisingly powerful tool for examining medieval literature. It sheds light on the dynamics of rereading and transformation that characterizes medieval literary culture, which in turn deepen our own understanding of the nature of creativity. This class follows two medieval characters who have captured the imagination of audiences for five hundred years: The Wife of Bath and Sir Gawain. Authors used, transformed, and reimagined these characters' stories to explore issues of gender, sexuality, power, and storytelling itself. We follow these two characters from their medieval origins up to twenty-first century retellings in film, poetry, play, and fanfiction. Along the way we will consider questions like, what is an author? What is literature? What is a character? What is a fan? And how have the answers to these questions changed from the middle ages to today?

This course satisfies the “Pre-1700 Guided Elective" requirement for English concentrators and Secondary Field students.