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Robertson, Benjamin J

Assistant Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • My research focuses on franchise studies, genre studies (especially science fiction, fantasy, and horror), American literature and culture, and media studies.

keywords

  • Franchise studies, genre (especially science fiction, fantasy and horror), 20th and 21st-century American literature, history, culture, media and technology studies, late capitalism

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • ENGL 1001 - Writing, Reading, Culture
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018
    This course provides training and practice in writing and critical thinking with a focus on literary and cultural studies. We will emphasize reading, the writing process, the fundamentals of composition, and the structure of arguments. There will be varied writing assignments with opportunities for revision.
  • ENGL 1220 - From Gothic to Horror
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2019
    Explores literature in the Gothic mode and aesthetic and critical theories related to modern "horror" genres or their precursors. Introduces literary-critical concepts (such as notions of abjection, repression and anxiety) that developed alongside this branch of literature. Students read canonical works in British and American traditions while reflecting on notions of popular or marginalized literature.
  • ENGL 2026 - Popular Culture, Critical Reading
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2022 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
    This course engages with forms of popular culture (for example, franchises, graphic novels, genre fiction, video games, trashy books) and considers how we can analyze these cultural forms critically. Students read a range of criticism written by amateurs, fans, journalists, social media, critics, and scholars, and will consider how the production of these cultural forms are shaped by different audiences.
  • ENGL 2112 - Introduction to Literary Theory
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2023
    This course introduces students to a wide range of critical theories essential to the study of literature. Critical theories have broad applications because they provide ways to interpret all cultural products, including visual arts, music, and writing. We will investigate some of the major movements relevant to literary studies, which may include, for example, cultural studies, structuralism, feminisms, ecocriticism, critical race theories, postmodern theory, media theories, etc.
  • ENGL 2212 - Science Fiction
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
    This course examines science fiction novels, short stories, and movies, paying close attention to what they teach us about our world. How do these works speculate about the future and alternative realms, and how do they portray our hopes and fears for the promises and limits of technology? Science fiction thinks about ways in which bodies, individuals, and societies might be different, and imagines ways of being and living other than our present.
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