Here Be Dragons: Fantasy Beasts from the Ancient World to Cyberspace

Mythical beasts from ancient dragons to contemporary cryptids are creatures of the imagination that play an important and complex role in how we envisage our world and our relationship to it.

This course will explore how they were the subject of classical and medieval travellers tales and appeared in literature and art.

It will also consider how they are seen today: the ways in which fantastic creatures create and define the alternative worlds in cyberspace and fantasy have striking parallels with the role and fiction of these traditions in medieval thought and cosmography.

Learning and teaching

The module will be delivered through ten 2-hour sessions.

These sessions will consist of a 1-hour lecture followed by class discussion and group work on specific topics relating to the module.

The discussion and group work will enable students to think critically and contribute to the debates and topics presented during the lectures.

The discussion-led sessions and the lectures will be supplemented by resources available to students via Learning Central.

Syllabus:

1. Introduction: Concepts and History.
2. Tales from Medieval Bestiaries.
3. From Pegasus to the Hippogriff.
4. The Wolf and the Werewolf.
5. Sirens, Mermaids and Seal People.
6. Sea Serpents and Lake Monsters.
7. The Lure and Lore of Cryptids.
8. Godzilla and Dragons.
9. Science Fiction and Fantasy: Old Friends and New Possibilities.
10. Visit to Cardiff University Library’s Special Collections.

Coursework and assessment

Formative assessment / feedback will occur on a weekly basis through class discussion and group work.

Assignment 1 (Critical Review): 30% - Exact nature of the task will vary from year to year. 500 words. Week 5-6.

Assignment 2 (Essay): 70% - Exact nature of the task will vary from year to year. 1000 words. End of the module.

Reading suggestions

• John Cherry (ed.), Mythical Beasts (London, 1995).
• Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark, Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopaedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature (New York; 1999).
• Michael Newton, Hidden Animals: A Field guide to Sasquatch, Chupacabra and Other Elusive Creatures (London, 2009).
• Daniel Ogden, Dragons, Serpents and Slayers in the Classical and Early Christian Worlds: A Sourcebook (Oxford, 2015).
• Jeffrey Weinstock (ed.), The Ashgate Encyclopaedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters (Farnham, 2014).
• Juliette Wood, Fantastic Creatures in Mythology and Folklore (London, 2018).

Library and computing facilities

As a student on this course you are entitled to join and use the University’s library and computing facilities. Find out more about using these facilities.

Accessibility

Our aim is access for all. We aim to provide a confidential advice and support service for any student with a long term medical condition, disability or specific learning difficulty. We are able to offer one-to-one advice about disability, pre-enrolment visits, liaison with tutors and co-ordinating lecturers, material in alternative formats, arrangements for accessible courses, assessment arrangements, loan equipment and dyslexia screening.