CE5270: Fiction vs History: The Real Game of Thrones

School Continuing and Professional Education
Department Code LEARN
Module Code CE5270
External Subject Code 100302
Number of Credits 10
Level L4
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Dr Michelle Deininger
Semester Autumn Semester
Academic Year 2018/9

Outline Description of Module

The adventures of the inhabitants of Westeros with its warriors, dragons, dynastic struggles and court intrigues will soon be coming to a close as the last televised adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novels gets underway. However many of the themes, settings and characters presented throughout this long-running series reflect actual historical epochs as well as a range of popular fantasy tropes. What then was the real world of ‘Game of Thrones’ like?  For example, how does A Song of Ice and Fire reflect the medieval and Tudor worlds of Europe? How closely does the Stark Family resemble the structure of heroic society of the Viking or the Celtic realms?  To what extent does the use of magic resonate with magic in other fantasies and with attitudes to Renaissance and medieval magic, and lastly how do mythical creatures like dragons and dire wolves reflect the tropes of fantasy writing?

On completion of the module a student should be able to

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the medieval and early modern historical sources in fantasy writing.
  • Recognise and evaluate ‘medievalism’ as a way to understanding the medieval and early modern worlds.
  • Identify textual and material evidence and understand how to analyse and interpret different types of evidence.
  • Demonstrate the ability to use information from class and independent research to construct an academically-sound argument.
  • Recognise and analyse major scholarly debates and trends in contemporary historical fantasy writing.

How the module will be delivered

The module will be delivered through nine two-hour evening sessions. These sessions will consist of a fifty-minute lecture followed by group discussion and activities. Students will be expected to have read the relevant material provided and use that as the basis for contributions in class.

Skills that will be practised and developed

  • The ability to communicate ideas and arguments effectively, whether in class discussion or in written form
  • The ability to work effectively with others in groups and to learn collaboratively through discussion and interaction
  • The ability to think critically, analyse sources, evaluate arguments, and challenge assumptions.
  • The ability to formulate and justify students’ own arguments and conclusions and present appropriate supporting evidence
  • The ability to locate relevant resources in the library and online and use them appropriately in academic work
  • The ability to use a range of information technology resources to assist with information retrieval and assignment presentation
  • The ability to independently organise study methods, manage time effectively, and prioritise workload to meet deadlines

How the module will be assessed

Type of assessment         %  Contribution          Title   Duration (if applicable)   Approx. date of Assessment

Assignment 1 (Source Assessment) (Summative) 30% Exact nature of task will vary from year to year            600 words     Week 5

Assignment 2 (Essay) (Summative) 70%   Exact nature of task will vary from year to year 1200 words          Week 9

Students who fail one or both assessment elements will be given the opportunity to re-submit coursework in response to different titles over the summer once the Exploring the Past exam board has met.

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Written Assessment 100 Fiction Vs History: The Real Game Of Thrones N/A

Syllabus content

Syllabus content

 

1. Introduction to the concepts of medievalism, fantasy genres and the ‘imagined past’.

2. Fantasy and history in earlier narratives such as Malory and the chanson de geste.

3. The Weather in Westeros and Middle Earth – Eco-medievalism in fantasy writing.

4. Dragons and Direwolves – fantastic animals in fantasy worlds.

5. Machiavelli on the Iron Throne – conspiracy and violence as narrative tropes.

6. History as a source for fiction: Examining heroic medieval and Tudor elements in Games of Thrones  

7. Game of Thrones as contemporary parable.

8. How to construct a parallel world.

9. Library visit – Historical and geographical material and examples of fantasy wiring in Special Collections and Archives

Essential Reading and Resource List

Essential reading:

  • William Clapton, Laura J Shepherd, ‘Lessons from Westeros: Gender and power in Game of Thrones,’ Politics, 37 (2017), 5-18
  • Barry Coward (ed.), A Companion to Stuart Britain (Oxford, 2003).
  • Valerie Estelle Frankel, Women in Game of Thrones: Power, Conformity and Resistance (Jefferson, NC, 2014)
  • C. Jamison, ‘Reading Westeros: George R.R. Martin’s Multi-Layered Medievalisms’ in Studies in Medievalism XXVI: Ecomedievalism, ed. K. Fugelso (Woodbridge: D.S. Brewer, 2017), pp. 131-42
  • Carolyne Larrington, Winter is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones (London and New York, 2016)
  • Katie Stevenson and Barbara Gribling (eds) Chivalry and the Medieval Past (Boydell and Brewer, 2016)

Background Reading and Resource List

Further Reading on History, Medievalism, Historical Fiction and Fantasy

  • Douglas A. Anderson, Tales Before Narnia: the roots of modern fantasy and science fiction (New York, 2008).
  • James Donald Londe, Fantasy and the Cinema (London, 1989).
  • Mark Donnelly and Claire Norton, Doing History (London and New York, 2011), pp. 153-170.
  • Jerome de Groot, Consuming History: Historians and Heritage in Contemporary Popular Culture (London, 2008), pp. 217-32
  • John Guy (ed.), The Tudor Monarchy (London and New York, 1997).
  • David Harlan, ‘Historical Fiction and the Future of Academic History’, in K. Jenkins, S. Morgan and A. Munslow (eds), Manifestos for History (London, 2007), pp. 108-30
  • Sarah L. Johnson, Historical Fiction: A guide to the genre (London, 2005).
  • T. Loughran, 'Historical Novels', in T. Loughran (ed.) A Practical Guide to Studying History: Skills and Approaches (London: Bloomsbury, 2017)
  • John Miller, Early Modern Britain, 1450‒1750 (Cambridge, 2017). 
  • John S. Morrill (ed.), The Oxford Illustrated History of Tudor and Stuart Britain (Oxford, 1996)  
  • Elodie Rousselot (ed.), Exoticizing the Past in Contemporary Neo-historical Fiction (New York, 2014).
  • Robert Tittler and Norman Jones (eds.), A Companion to Tudor Britain (Oxford, 2004)

Online resources:

 


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