In ISLS 3350, Heroes and Anti-Heroes in Literature, we will explore the significance of these two major character types in both classic and contemporary works from the ancient Greeks to the present. We will consider some basic questions: What is heroism? Why do we need heroes and hero stories? How are our heroes changing? How can we compare heroes from different historical eras? What is the hero’s role in contemporary literature? How have the standards by which we measure heroism changed over time? How have they remained the same? How does moral courage stack up against physical courage? What role does gender play in hero stories?

We will examine different heroic codes as well as different types of heroes, including the classical hero, the medieval hero, the comic hero, the tragic hero, the romantic hero, and the super hero. We will study how authors develop these characters using specific literary strategies. Moving from ancient myths to classic and fractured fairy tales to The Hobbit and other contemporary works, we will explore what Joseph Campbell called the heroic archetype and the heroic myth or quest in his famous work The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Using Campbell’s framework, we will also examine the antihero in these same works and explore how the two major archetypes as well as the trickster, the mentor, the shadow, and the ally have helped bring to life some of the world’s greatest stories.

Students will read nine works representing some of the world’s greatest literature. All books are readily available free of cost at public libraries and at minimal cost at used bookstores. See the required texts section for titles. Students will write short informal weekly responses and three critical essays. Classes will consist of lectures, discussions, viewings of film excerpts, small group work, and in-class writing. What do Captain America, Atticus Finch, Katniss Everdeen, Odysseus, and Beowulf have in common? All are variants of the hero archetype.