Real and Unreal Animals in Literature

Service Description

This course will take you on a journey through the literatures of pre-modern and early modern South Asia and Iran where we focus on the non-human animals who accompanied the heroes of romance and adventure on their paths. Non-human animals have always inspired the human imagination as writers wove them into their stories and artists painted them into their illustrations. These animals can be our friends and companions or our greatest foes, but in any case they are a constant presence in our lives. We will look at the complexities of how both 'real' and 'imaginary' animals were understood by authors and readers in the past. Each week will focus on a different animal with one or two stories that will be offered in translation (though students are welcome to read the originals if they are able). We will discuss and analyse these texts in class alongside the artworks that depict these animals. Course Plan: Week I: Introduction - Animals as Marvels Week II: Understanding the Romance Genres of Qissa and Mathnawi Week III: Birds Week IV: Deer Week V: Dogs Week VI: Horses Week VII: Dragons (Terrestrial) Week VIII: Dragons (Aquatic) Week IX: Humans and Animals in the Wilderness Week X: Al-Buraq - The flying steed of the Prophet Muhammad Amber Elisabeth Peters is a PhD student doing a double-degree program at Heidelberg University and Ca' Foscari University of Venice. She has long had a fascination with animals in art and literature and has been reading and writing about them for several years. Her research focuses primarily on the literature of Southern India in its historic, religious, environmental, and philosophical context. However, she has worked on Dakhni, Urdu, and Persian texts from throughout South Asia and historical Iran. Her Master of Arts thesis explored two Deccani paintings of al-Buraq (the flying steed of Prophet Muhammad) through a comparative study of literary texts. She is currently working on the romantic Dakhni Sufi poem, the Gulshan-e Ishq (Garden of Love), written in 1657 by Nusrati Bijapuri. * The course starts during the first week of October and concludes in the second week of December, spanning 10 weeks (10 sessions). The exact days and times will be scheduled based on the availability of both the instructor and the learners. * Once learners enroll, Silk Road Academy will coordinate the class schedule, process payments, and manage administrative details. * Silk Road Academy can issue invoices so learners can request reimbursement