L.ENG 235 - The Revisionist Superhero-AA

Credits: 3

In this course students will first learn the boundaries and cultural expectations of elements of the traditional super-hero narrative; then, the course will engage some of the major texts that challenge those expectations, as well as the deep and rich body of associated criticism that places those texts in an aesthetic and cultural context. The texts used in this course have been selected specifically because they are widely-viewed as stories that transcend their genre, and thus are recognized as a fine art form in and of themselves. Students will examine the evolution of the super-hero genre that began with the inception of “superhero revisionism” in the early 1980s, particularly in terms of the way these former four-color characters have been transformed in terms of character, visual styling, and most importantly, the stories told about them.
Prerequisite: L.LIB-100; L.ENG 105; L.LIB-110; One course from L.LIB-130, L.LIB-135, or L.LIB-220
Co-requisite: None
General Education Classification: Not Applicable