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2026 Fall Main Session
AH368/Lecture/01 - Fantasy Art & Illustration 1850-Present | Credits 3.00
This course traces fantasy as subject and strategy in the visual arts from 1850-present. Beginning with a close examination of paintings, literary illustrations, pulp magazines, and book covers from the 1840s through the mid-20th century, the course pivots to a study of how post-war culture, the emergence of a globalized postmodern condition and its associative technological innovations re-shaped and evolved the potential of fantasy narratives, settings and characters in the visual arts. Close readings of modern literary theory, beginning with J.R.R. Tolkien’s foundational ideas on subcreation and Primary and Secondary Worlds outlined in “On Fairy Stories,” will open a critical discussion of how artists exploit character traits, settings and worldbuilding to revise, re-interpret and overcome strongly rooted stereotypes and tropes while challenging real world social and political issues. Recent cultural and intellectual histories such as the psychedelic movement, rising critiques of gender and race (and inclusion more broadly), and the potential of virtual reality technologies and the posthuman will provide tools to critique and analyze the persistent, and diversifying, role and power of fantasy subject matter to the human condition.
Registration Type Traditional
Fees N/A
Instructors Wallis, Jonathan
Duration 8/27/2026 - 12/18/2026
Schedule ONLINE  12:01 AM - 12:02 AM;  Moore College Art &, Online, Room XXX
Prerequisites ( AH215 / Lecture <min credit = 3.00> or AH215H / Lecture <min credit = 3.00> or UARTS / Open <min credit = 15.00> or DCAD / Open <min credit = 15.00> )
Corequisites N/A
Credit Types Credit
Class 23 Seats | 0 Remaining
Closed

Primary population and other student populations allowed to register for this course:
 Primary Population# Others Allowed# Others Registered
Campus  Moore College of Art & Design230
Program  Bachelor of Fine Art230
College  Moore College of Art230
Department  Creative & Critic St2323