NARX16 Fictional Worlds in Cosmicism

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Ivan Čižik (lecturer)
prof. PhDr. Bohumil Fořt, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Bohumil Fořt, Ph.D.
Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: prof. PhDr. Bohumil Fořt, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The primary aim of this academic course is to introduce students to an analytical way of literary criticism, which follows the theory of fictional worlds, proposed by narratologist Lubomír Doležel. Another primary aim is to introduce the literary/philosophical ideas of cosmicism, its evolution, and its contemporary influence in the literary world.
Learning outcomes
After the course, the students will be capable of effective use of the essential methodological tools, which originate from the theory of fictional worlds. Simultaneously, the students will learn about a number of important paragons of cosmicism, in the Cthulhu mythos and their specific narrative paradigms, which form the fictional worlds in their artworks.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to the course; Introduction to the theory of the fictional worlds and its corresponding methodology in analysis; The structure of the fictional world; Introduction to cosmicism, weird fiction genre and their representative authors; 2. Introduction to the prose of H.P.Lovecraft; Fictional world as the framework of a story; Intensional function - Authentication; The application of the methodology in analysis of "The Tomb" and "The Call of Cthulhu" by H.P.Lovecraft; 3. Intensional function - Saturation; Lovecraft and his "purple poetry"; Application of the methodology in "The Statement of Randolph Carter" and "The Haunter of the Dark" by H.P. Lovecraft; 4. Gaps as a part of a structure; The tradition of "unreliable" narrator in the literature; Ambrose Bierce; Robert W. Chambers and "The King in Yellow" 5. The structure of the fictional worlds in "weird fiction"; The borders of the genre; The prose of Robert E. Howard and Clark A. Smith; 6. Extensional functions; Narrative modalities; Axiological quantifiers; August Derleth and his prose; the analysis of "The Return of Hastur"; 7. Epistemic quantifiers- the prose of Brian Lumley; Xenofiction; 8. Deontic quantifiers - the prose of Clive Barker (The Forbidden); 9. Aletic quantifiers - the prose of Thomas Ligotti; The theory of fictional worlds and postmodern texts; 10. Literary transductions - transposition and expansion; Brian Stableford and Caitlín R. Kierman; transcultural literary transductions; Ken Asamatsu; 11. Postmodern rewrites; Mutations; Neil Gaiman and The Cthulhu mythos 12. Final lesson and evaluation;
Literature
    required literature
  • DOLEŽEL, Lubomír. Heterocosmica. Fikce a možné světy (Heterocosmica. Fiction and Possible Worlds). Vydání české první. Praha: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, 2003, 311 pp. ISBN 80-246-0735-2. info
  • HOWARD, Robert: Tygři moře. Plzeň: Laser-books, 2015. ISBN 978-80-7193-399-1
  • LUMLEY, Brian: Nekros a jiné noční můry. Frenštát pod Radhoštěm: Polaris, 1999. ISBN 80-85911-48-5
  • SMITH, Clark: Mimo prostor a čas. Praha: Plus, 2018. ISBN 978-80-259-0054-3
  • LOVECRAFT, H. P. Hrobka : příběhy a vize z let 1917-1920. Translated by Linda Bartošková - Věra Frydrychová - František Jungwirth - R. 2. vydání. Praha: Kniha Zlin, 2021, 217 stran. ISBN 9788076622142. info
  • LOVECRAFT, H. P. Měsíční močál : příběhy a sny z let 1921-1925. Translated by Linda Bartošková - Věra Frydrychová - František Jungwirth - R. 2. vydání. Praha: Kniha Zlin, 2021, 343 stran. ISBN 9788076622159. info
  • LIGOTTI, Thomas. Písně mrtvého snivce. Translated by Milan Žáček, Illustrated by Serhìj Krykun. 1. vydání. Kroměříž: Carcosa, 2021, 315 stran. ISBN 9788088243380. info
  • LOVECRAFT, H. P. Stín z času : příběhy a střípky z let 1931-1935. Translated by Linda Bartošková - František Jungwirth - Václav Kajdoš - Zden. 2. vydání. V Praze: Kniha Zlin, 2021, 467 stran. ISBN 9788076622180. info
  • LOVECRAFT, H. P. Volání Cthulhu 1 : příběhy a novely z let 1926-1927. Translated by Linda Bartošková - Václav Kajdoš - Stanislava Pošustová-Men. 2. vydání. V Praze: Kniha Zlin, 2021, 344 stran. ISBN 9788076622166. info
  • LOVECRAFT, H. P. Volání Cthulhu 2 : příběhy a novely z let 1927-1930. Translated by Linda Bartošková - Václav Kajdoš - Ondřej Neff, Illustrated b. 2. vydání. v Praze: Kniha Zlin, 2021, 320 stran. ISBN 9788076622173. info
  • CHAMBERS, Robert W. Král ve žlutém. Translated by Petr Pálenský. První vydání. Praha: Argo, 2014, 221 stran. ISBN 9788025713013. info
    recommended literature
  • BARTHES, Roland. Mytologie. Translated by Josef Fulka. Třetí vydání v českém. Praha: Dokořán, 2018, 173 stran. ISBN 9788073638887. info
  • DOLEŽEL, Lubomír. Possible worlds of fiction and history : the postmodern stage. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010, ix, 171. ISBN 9780801894633. info
  • ECO, Umberto and Ladislav NAGY. Meze interpretace. 1. české vyd. Praha: Karolinum, 2004, 330 s. ISBN 9788024607405. info
  • JOSHI, S. T. The evolution of the weird tale. First edition. New York: Hippocampus Press, 2004, 216 stran. ISBN 0974878928. info
  • CARROLL, Noël. The philosophy of horror, or, Paradoxes of the heart. New York: Informa Healthcare, 1990, xi, 256. ISBN 0415901456. info
  • LOVECRAFT, H. P. Supernatural horror in literature. New York: Dover Publications, 1973, ix, 106 p. ISBN 0-486-20105-8. info
Teaching methods
Seminary lessons; study of primary and secondary literature; Preparation of the reader's portfolio according to instructions from the lecturer;
Assessment methods
The evaluation is based on active cooperation during lessons and also the quality of the reader's portfolio and its final presentation.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/NARX16