Fantasy literature

Fantasy literature is the body of written works that employ the motifs, themes, and stylistic approaches expected in the fantasy genre. Historically, most works of fantasy are written pieces of literature. Since the 1960s, however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other media.

History

Stories involving paranormal magic and terrible monsters have existed in spoken forms before the advent of printed literature. Homer's Odyssey satisfies the definition of the fantasy genre with its magic, gods, heroes, adventures and monsters. Fantasy literature as a distinct type emerged in Victorian times, with the works of writers such as Mary Shelley, William Morris and George MacDonald.

J. R. R. Tolkien played a large role in the popularization and accessibility of the fantasy genre with his highly successful publications The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). Rarely does one consider modern fantasy without conjuring the memory and image of Tolkien and his creations. Tolkien was largely influenced by an ancient body of Anglo-Saxon myths, particularly Beowulf, as well as modern works such as The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison. Tolkien's close friend C. S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia and a fellow English professor with a similar array of interests, also helped to publicize the fantasy genre.

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three, all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction.

In popular culture, the fantasy genre is predominantly of the medievalist form. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy comprises works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians, from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works.

Fantasy is studied in a number of disciplines including English and other language studies, cultural studies, comparative literature, history, and medieval studies. Work in this area ranges widely, from the structuralist theory of Tzvetan Todorov, which emphasizes the fantastic as a liminal space, to work on the connections (political, historical, literary) between medievalism and popular culture.

Terry Brooks

Terence Dean "Terry" Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two movie novelizations. He has written 23 New York Times bestsellers during his writing career, and has over 21 million copies of his books in print. He is one of the biggest-selling living fantasy writers.

Early life

Brooks was born in the rural Midwestern town of Sterling, Illinois, and spent a large part of his life living there. He is an alumnus of Hamilton College, earning his B.A. in English literature in 1966. He later obtained a law degree (J.D.) from Washington and Lee University. He was a practicing attorney before becoming a full-time author and now resides in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Judine.

Career

Brooks had been a writer since high school, writing mainly in the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction. One day, in his early college life, he was given a copy of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, which inspired him to write in one genre. While Tolkien inspired the genre, Brooks stated during his TEDxRainier talk "Why I Write about Elves", as well as at the Charlotte Literary Festival that he credits the inspiration of his style of writing to William Faulkner's works. With this inspiration, he then made his debut in 1977 with The Sword of Shannara.

Chiba University

Chiba University (千葉大学, Chiba Daigaku) and it is also abbreviated as Chibadai (千葉大) is a national university in the city of Chiba, Japan. It offers Doctoral degrees in education as part of a coalition with Tokyo Gakugei University, Saitama University, and Yokohama National University. The university was formed in 1949 from existing educational institutions in Chiba Prefecture, and absorbed over a period of years Chiba Medical University (1923-1960), a preparatory department of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Chiba Normal School (1872-1951), Tokyo Polytechnic High School (1914-1951), Chiba Horticultural High School, and others. Chiba University was reincorporated in 2010 under the National University Corporation Act. Chiba University has been ranked 75th on the Asia University Rankings 2013 Top 100 by "The Times Higher Education".

Currently, Chiba University consists of nine faculties, the university library, the university hospital and other educational and research facilities. With 11,179 students in the undergraduate program, it has long been one of the largest universities in Japan. As for the graduate school, there are about 2,354 students in ten master's programs and 1,220 in nine doctoral programs.

Associate professor

Associate professor (frequently capitalized as Associate Professor) is an academic title that can have different meanings. In North America and universities elsewhere using the North American system, it is a position between assistant professor and a full professorship. In a number of Commonwealth countries, the title, associate professor, is often used in place of reader, which is used in the United Kingdom and a number of other Commonwealth universities. This usage is typical of universities in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in South Africa, Malaysia and other countries. The title associate professor in those countries, like the title reader, corresponds to a full professorship in North America.

Some universities in Commonwealth countries have changed to the American system, or adopted a combination. The University of Western Australia, for example, changed to the American-style system in 2009, and those who until then held the title associate professor received the new title professor, whereas those who until then held the title senior lecturer, received the new title associate professor.