ENGL 119

Spring 2026 All Classes

All Classes

Literature of Fantasy

SHOW FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE

Credit: 3 hours.

Introduction to the rich traditions of fantasy writing in world literature. While the commercial category of fantasy post-Tolkien will often be the focal point, individual instructors may choose to focus on alternate definitions of the genre: literatures of the fantastic, the uncanny, and the weird; fantasy before the Enlightenment and the advent of realism; fantasy for young adult or child readers; and so on.

Same as CWL 119.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2022 for:

Humanities – Lit & Arts

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ENGL 119 class schedule data for spring 2026
	CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
	47149	Lecture-Discussion	M	1:00PM -1:50PM	MWF	104 English Building	Barrett, R	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Degree Notes: Humanities - Lit & Arts course. Section Info: SP26 ENGL 119 - Literature of Fantasy - Rob Barrett - Fantastic narratives are as old as human culture. However, Anglophone fantasy as a mainstream literary genre and viable commercial category is less than a century old. In this section of ENGL 119, we’ll track that genre’s history on a decade-by-decade basis, beginning with J. R. R. Tolkien’s 1954 The Fellowship of the Ring and ending with Susanna Clarke’s 2020 Piranesi. Along the way we’ll look at novels by Peter S. Beagle (1968’s The Last Unicorn), Patricia A. McKillip (1974’s The Forgotten Beasts of Eld), Diana Wynne Jones (1982’s Witch Week), Terry Pratchett (1996’s Feet of Clay), Ursula K. Le Guin (2006’s Voices), and N. K. Jemisin (2015’s The Fifth Season). We’ll learn how a literary tradition emerges and becomes capable of self-critique, and we’ll also investigate what the literature of the impossible has to say about the cultural possibilities of the so-called “real world.” Assignments will include short reading responses as well as a final project asking students to write about a contemporary fantasy novel that doesn’t appear on the course reading list. There will also be two exams. Restriction(s): Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.