This course explores how various Christian thinkers and communities through history have reckoned with the possibility of extraterrestrial life by examining their cultural, scientific, theological, and ethical contexts. Drawing on the works of several of the most prolific 20th-century fantasy authors, it examines how the experience of global conflicts shaped the creation of secondary worlds informed by the Middle Ages in the works of such authors as J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula K. LeGuin, and George R.R. Martin. This course provides important scholarly and cultural context for studying these works in relation to warfare and medievalism in fantasy literature. In so doing, it explores the complex relationship between real-life conflict and literature that has continued to shape popular culture to the present day. Topics will include: art and patronage, rhetoric and ritual, controversial restoration, and the Sistine Chapel in popular culture—with an emphasis on the close analysis of the major frescoes. The seminar will develop the academic skills needed for the analysis and discussion of texts, paintings, and ritual events.
This course explores how various Christian thinkers and communities through history have reckoned with the possibility of extraterrestrial life by examining their cultural, scientific, theological, and ethical contexts. Drawing on the works of several of the most prolific 20th-century fantasy authors, it examines how the experience of global conflicts shaped the creation of secondary worlds informed by the Middle Ages in the works of such authors as J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula K. LeGuin, and George R.R. Martin. This course provides important scholarly and cultural context for studying these works in relation to warfare and medievalism in fantasy literature. In so doing, it explores the complex relationship between real-life conflict and literature that has continued to shape popular culture to the present day. Topics will include: art and patronage, rhetoric and ritual, controversial restoration, and the Sistine Chapel in popular culture—with an emphasis on the close analysis of the major frescoes. The seminar will develop the academic skills needed for the analysis and discussion of texts, paintings, and ritual events.
