GIS 270 THE MONSTROUS OTHER

This course considers the tendency to view the "other" in terms of monstrosity: as terrifyingly sub-human or as fantastically superhuman. With a focus on the premodern and early modern periods, the course looks at ways in which Muslim and Christian groups portrayed the other in literature, art, and historical accounts. Throughout the course, students will formulate theories about monstrosity, heterogeneity, ethnography, and fantasy, which apply to early as well as contemporary sources.