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Tales of the Unexpected: Paradoxography, Fiction and the Culture of Wonder

Module description

This is a module for readers who love whodunnits, horror, and all things weird and wonderful. We will take as our starting-point the development in the ancient world of the literary genre which was devoted to the bizarre – paradoxography – and examine how this genre begins to inflect narrative fiction in the imperial period, producing a variety of strange and intellectually compelling works, from Phlegon of Tralles’ Marvellous Tales to the sordid and magical adventures of the Roman novels (Petronius and Apuleius). Besides their obvious appeal, these texts offer us a unique insight into the ancient experience of fiction, and the (sometimes bizarre) intellectual tastes of imperial readers and their world-view. The module will also examine the dialogue between these fictions and their contemporary culture of wonder, including the world of the Roman amphitheatre and ancient avatars of the circus and freak show.

There are no formal prerequisites for this module, but imagination, intrepid curiosity and a commitment to the transformative power of fiction are a must.

Module aims - intentions of the module

To expand your abilities to examine fiction as a means for imaginative exploration of the ancient thought-world, and to examine the dialogue between fiction and its wider contemporary culture of intellectual inquiry and entertainment. Questions which will preoccupy us throughout include: Who read these texts and why? What questions do these narratives raise about their contemporary world – and about our modern world today?

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of a wide range of ancient prose fiction, and evaluate and discuss its significance
• 2. Identify and explain the various theoretical approaches to prose fiction in the ancient world, and demonstrate awareness of the subject’s central themes and issues
• 3. Demonstrate awareness of the extent to which interpretations of ancient prose fiction are shaped by changing modern concerns
• 4. Demonstrate a good knowledge of the history and variety of scholarship on ancient prose fiction and an understanding of how this scholarship can inform your own interpretation of the texts

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Identify, appreciate and engage effectively with different theoretical approaches to ancient texts
• 6. Demonstrate sophisticated critical and analytical skills which can be applied to the analysis of texts and fictional narratives from any culture
• 7. Demonstrate appreciation of the issues involved in using ancient texts as historical source material and relate texts to their socio-historical context

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. Through research for seminars, essay and informal presentations, demonstrate advanced independent and group study skills in research, critical analysis, and presentation of findings
• 9. Through writing essay, delivering informal presentations and preparing for seminars, demonstrate advanced ability to select and organise relevant material to produce an argument
• 10. Through written assignment, presentations and discussion demonstrate advanced ability to present a strong, coherent argument in both oral and written forms
• 11. Through submission of final essay demonstrate enhanced ability to reflect on your own work, to respond constructively to feedback, and to implement suggestions and improve work on the basis of feedback

Syllabus plan

We will examine the genre of paradoxography and how this infiltrates the tradition of narrative fiction during the Roman imperial period, producing tales of wonder, horror and magical realism. The texts we will focus on are Phlegon of Tralles’ Marvellous Tales, Antonius Diogenes’ The incredible things beyond Thule, Petronius’ Satyrica and Apuleius’ Metamorphoses.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Re-assessed essay will count for same as original essay (100%).

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• J. Brunvand, The vanishing hitchhiker: American urban legends and their meanings (New York 1981, repr. 2003).
• W. Hansen, Phlegon of Tralles' Book of Marvels (Exeter, 1996).
• W. Hansen, Anthology of ancient Greek popular literature (Indiana, 1998).
• T. Hägg, The Novel in Antiquity (Oxford, 1983).
• S. J. Harrison (ed.), Oxford readings in the Roman novel (Oxford, 1999).
• H. Hofmann (ed.) Latin fiction: the Latin novel in context (London, 1999).
• N. Holzberg, The Ancient Novel: An Introduction (English tr., London and New York, 1995).
• Repath & J. Prag. (edd.), Petronius: a handbook (Oxford, 2013).
• G. Schmeling (ed.), The novel in the ancient world (Leiden, 1996/2003).
• J.P. Sullivan (trans.), Petronius. The Satyricon (London: Penguin, 1986).
• J.Tatum (ed.), The search for the ancient novel (Baltimore, 1994).
• P.G. Walsh, The Roman novel (Cambridge, 1970).
• T. Whitmarsh (ed.), The Cambridge companion to the Greek and Roman novel (Cambridge, 2008).
• J.J. Winkler, Actor et auctor: a narratological reading of Apuleius' Golden Ass (Berkeley, 1985).

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=4727

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• Ancient Narrative – www.ancientnarrative.com (available through Library catalogue)

Key words search

Ancient novel, fiction, paradoxography, Apuleius, Petronius, Phlegon