English
460: Current Issues in English – Interdisciplinarity & Terry Pratchett
Fall 2012 – Section # 22206030
MW 2:00-3:15 p.m. – Anspach 150
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This course explores the work of British fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett through the theoretical lens of Interdisciplinarity, one of the growing movements in scholarship and academe. As Susan Bassnett comments in her article, “Is There Hope for the Humanities in the 21st Century?”, Interdisciplinarity is not just a “buzz word” but rather is a fundamental concept “that underpins how students think, how they learn, and how they will determine their futures” (108). In this article, she also expresses her opinion that, because of this, she would like to see “Terry Pratchett on every degree program English Studies” (109). Her comments provide a springboard for this class. Over the last decade, numerous literary studies have appeared that utilize a variety of interdisciplinary approaches, including but not limited to works focusing on the intersections between literature and philosophy, ecology, political science, mathematics, psychology, music, science, religion, and art. Many of these have considered popular literature as well as canonical works, with such titles as Harry Potter and International Relations (2006), The Unimaginable Mathematics of Borges’ Library of Babel (2008), The Physics of Star Trek (2007), and Sensation and Sublimation in Charles Dickens (2011) but a few examples. Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels fit nicely into the former category, having sold over 70 million copies worldwide, and he is something of a global phenomenon: knighted for his contributions to literature in 2008, Pratchett has been referred to as “the Dickens of the twentieth century” (Hunt 91). This course will consider several of Pratchett’s works that lend themselves to interdisciplinary approaches, and will consider their intersections with such areas as film, folklore, philosophy, religion, philosophy, politics, geography, physics, art, music, and cultural studies. A good time will be had by all!
Tentative Reading List*
Joe Moran,
Interdisciplinarity (2nd
edition)
Terry
Pratchett, The Amazing Maurice and his
Educated Rodents – Children’s literature, folklore, politics
---,
Guards! Guards! – folklore, science,
politics, mythology, criminal justice
---,
Hogfather – film, folklore, mythology,
philosophy
---,
The Last Hero – art, graphic novels,
politics, mythology, classics
---,
Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook – cooking, art,
genre-play, folklore
---,
Night Watch – politics, philosophy,
criminal justice, history
---,
Pyramids – geography, history,
anthropology, mythology
---,
Small Gods – religion, mythology,
philosophy
---,
Thief of Time – philosophy, physics,
mythology
---,
Witches Abroad – folklore,
intertextuality, travel literature, fairy tales
---,
Wyrd Sisters – intertextuality, film,
drama
*In keeping
with Pratchett’s habit of inserting paratextual commentary, this footnote
observes that the topics following the dashes are mere starting points for
Interdisciplinary discussion, and not intended to indicate the only areas of
Interdisciplinarity suggested by these texts.
Works Cited
Bassnett, Susan. “Is There Hope for the Humanities in the 21st
Century?” Arts
& Humanities in Higher
Education
1:1 (2002): 101-110.
Hunt, Peter. “Terry Pratchett.”
Alternative Worlds in Fantasy Fiction. Ed. Peter Hunt and Millicent Lenz.
London and New York: Continuum, 2001.
Children's Literature
Resources