Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature’s Most Fantastic Works
Overview
Course No. 2997
Learn what fairy tales and science fiction stories can reveal about the psyches of individuals and nations in this illuminating journey through the world’s most fantastic and imaginative literature.
This 24-lecture course with Professor Eric S. Rabkin explores how literature of the fantastic – from ancient myths to modern science fiction – reflects historical periods and social values. You’ll examine:
- The psychological and cultural significance of fairy tales and fantasy
- The evolution of science fiction from Mary Shelley to Arthur C. Clarke
- How authors like Poe, Kafka, Tolkien, and Asimov used the fantastic to comment on reality
Video Lectures
- Introduction to Fantastic Literature
Defining the fantastic and its importance in literary tradition. - The Brothers Grimm and Fairy Tale Origins
Analyzing the psychological depth of classic fairy tales. - Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
How this Gothic masterpiece created science fiction. - Edgar Allan Poe’s Dark Imagination
Exploring Poe’s pioneering weird fiction. - Lewis Carroll’s Nonsense Worlds
The mathematical and linguistic play of Alice’s Adventures. - Jules Verne and Scientific Romance
Early science fiction’s blend of adventure and technology. - H.G. Wells and Social Science Fiction
Using fantastic premises to examine human nature. - Franz Kafka’s Absurdist Visions
Bureaucratic nightmares and existential dilemmas. - J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth
Mythology-building and the modern fantasy epic. - Virginia Woolf’s Experimental Realities
Blurring boundaries between realism and fantasy. - Golden Age Science Fiction
The rise of Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke. - Ray Bradbury’s Poetic Speculation
Fahrenheit 451 and Martian Chronicles examined. - Contemporary Fantasy Trends
Modern masters and evolving subgenres.

