In this course we shall explore the rich, multi-layered and highly
intertextual world of Philip Pullman's acclaimed fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials.
His Dark Materials consists of the novels Northern Lights (1995; US title: The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife (1997) and The Amber Spyglass (2000). In the trilogy, the adventurous, brave, eloquent, imaginative protagonist Lyra Belacqua sets out to do, what young fantasy protagonists usually do, namely to save the world together. In Lyra's case, however, the saving applies not only to one world but many, because Pullman's world building envisages a universe with multiple alternative worlds through which the protagonists (yes, there is more than one chosen one) find ways to travel.
Creating a fascinating universe, strong and interesting characters and telling an epic story, are not the only merits of Pullman's trilogy. For literary scholars, His Dark Materials is fascinating, because of its intertextual allusions: John Milton's Paradise Lost, the visionary poetry of William Blake, Heinrich von Kleist's Über das Marionettentheater or physical theories on parallel worlds are no mere name-dropping in these novels, but they constitute the conceptual core of the novels' intricate plot structure. In the first section of our course, we shall, therefore, explore how the intertextual allusions help us understand the philosophical concepts underlying Pullman's fantastic universe.
A second part will be devoted to discussions of adaptations of the trilogy, because so far, His Dark Materials has been adapted for the stage (2003, National Theatre London) , the movie screen (2007, The Golden Compass), and for a TV series (2019-2022, HBO). This variety of adaptations will allow us to explore the media-specific transformations the trilogy has undergone, so far.
For the sake of completeness, I should also mention that Pullman has, by now, expanded the universe of His Dark Materials with additional publications, including a second trilogy (The Book of Dust), but in view of the limited scope of our course, we will contend ourselves with the original core trilogy.
Since we will read additional material during the term (because we need a thorough foundation when discussing the intertextual allusions), it is highly recommended that participants buy their own copies of the His Dark Materials trilogy (see "Literatur" for more details) and have finished at least the first two volumes before the first session. The books are great reads and worth reading anyhow, so there is no reason to wait for the final, definite admission to the course.
His Dark Materials consists of the novels Northern Lights (1995; US title: The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife (1997) and The Amber Spyglass (2000). In the trilogy, the adventurous, brave, eloquent, imaginative protagonist Lyra Belacqua sets out to do, what young fantasy protagonists usually do, namely to save the world together. In Lyra's case, however, the saving applies not only to one world but many, because Pullman's world building envisages a universe with multiple alternative worlds through which the protagonists (yes, there is more than one chosen one) find ways to travel.
Creating a fascinating universe, strong and interesting characters and telling an epic story, are not the only merits of Pullman's trilogy. For literary scholars, His Dark Materials is fascinating, because of its intertextual allusions: John Milton's Paradise Lost, the visionary poetry of William Blake, Heinrich von Kleist's Über das Marionettentheater or physical theories on parallel worlds are no mere name-dropping in these novels, but they constitute the conceptual core of the novels' intricate plot structure. In the first section of our course, we shall, therefore, explore how the intertextual allusions help us understand the philosophical concepts underlying Pullman's fantastic universe.
A second part will be devoted to discussions of adaptations of the trilogy, because so far, His Dark Materials has been adapted for the stage (2003, National Theatre London) , the movie screen (2007, The Golden Compass), and for a TV series (2019-2022, HBO). This variety of adaptations will allow us to explore the media-specific transformations the trilogy has undergone, so far.
For the sake of completeness, I should also mention that Pullman has, by now, expanded the universe of His Dark Materials with additional publications, including a second trilogy (The Book of Dust), but in view of the limited scope of our course, we will contend ourselves with the original core trilogy.
Since we will read additional material during the term (because we need a thorough foundation when discussing the intertextual allusions), it is highly recommended that participants buy their own copies of the His Dark Materials trilogy (see "Literatur" for more details) and have finished at least the first two volumes before the first session. The books are great reads and worth reading anyhow, so there is no reason to wait for the final, definite admission to the course.
- Dozent/in: Anja Müller