The Fantasy Studies Fellowship is an undergraduate social and intellectual organization dedicated to the study of the Fantastic, established by Dr. Lori Campbell in 2005.
If you have a passion for the Fantastic, or if you simply love books, the Fantasy Studies Fellowship provides a forum to voice opinions, exchange ideas, and improve analytical skills.
We meet about once per month to share ideas, analyze, and debate. Discussions will focus on material chosen by the group from all sub-genres including High and Low Fantasy, Romance, The gothic, science fiction, fairy/folktales, children's fiction, video games, television programs, and the graphic novel. Members are also encouraged to share original creative writing and fan fiction.
Readings
Readings and films are chosen by the group. We usually read about one per month and are always looking for new suggestions, so join us and add yours to the list! Here are some of the books we've discussed so far:
- Hunger Games: Suzanne Collins
- Cinder: Marissa Meyer
- Game of Thrones: George R.R. Martin
- American Gods: Neil Gaiman
- Artemis Fowl: Eoin Colfer
- Inkheart: Cornelia Funke
- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: C.S Lewis
- The Wizard of Earthsea: Ursula Le Guin
- Good Omens: Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
- Harry Potter series: J.K. Rowling
- The Bartimaeus Trilogy: Jonathan Stroud
- Wicked: Gregory Maguire
- The Night Circus: Erin Morgenstern
- Coraline: Neil Gaiman
- The Golden Compass: Phillip Pullman
- The Merlin Conspiracy: Diana Wynne Jones
- The Dark Is Rising: Susan Cooper
- The Sandman, Volume 6: Neil Gaiman
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone: Laini Taylor
- Avatar: The Legend of Korra
- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (video game)
Plus, critical works by Vladmir Propp, Tom Shippey, Jack Zipes, Colin Manlove, Rosemary Jackson, Joseph Campbell, and other major fantasy/folklore/sci fi scholars.
On March 27, 2015, The Fantasy Studies Fellowship hosted a conference on “Tolkien and Modern Fantasy” in honor of our tenth anniversary as an undergraduate student organization at Pitt. Students presented papers on texts including Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, and more. The featured speakers at the conference were New York Times bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy Laini Taylor, and Tolkien Studies founding editor and Professor of English from Wheaton College, Michael Drout, PhD. Photos from the conference can be found on our Facebook page.
For more Information
Find us on Facebook. If you have questions, email Dr. Lori Campbell.
Check the English Department Events Calendar for fellowship meetings.