Clones and cannibals; monsters and fairies; men with wings and hybrid animal-children—these and other beings will guide us through an introduction to literary interpretation. Our study will take us through multiple literary forms (drama, poetry, short story, novel, and graphic novel) and theories (New Criticism, Queer Theory, Biopolitics, etc.) as we complicate our conception of “the natural.” Along the way, we will examine the relationship between nature and culture; the founding of community by means of taboo, illusion, and magic; and the biological and technological adaptations of humans and other animals.

Texts include:
Franz Kafka, “The Metamorphosis” (1915)
Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth vol. 1 (2010)
William Shakespeare, The Tempest (1623)
Marianne Wiggins, John Dollar (1989)

Films:
Blade Runner (1982), Dir. Ridley Scott
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Dir. Nicolas Roeg