Fantasy is now an established and lucrative genre with a dizzying array of popular iterations across literature, games, and film. But the story of how hobbits, dungeons, knights, and dragons took over our collective imaginations is a long, complex one, with many surprising twists and turns. Historian Justin M. Jacobs explores the origins of the modern fantasy genre, from the evolution of obscure Gothic novels to the iconic works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and the co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons.
Jacobs, a professor of Chinese and global history at American University, is the author of several books, including Plunder? How Museums Got Their Treasures. He is currently designing a tabletop roleplaying game inspired by Chinese history.
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Fantasy After Dungeons & Dragons
The cultural impact of Dungeons & Dragons simply cannot be overstated. Be it in film, literature, art, or games, the recipe for modern fantasy consumer products bears the indelible imprint of Dungeons & Dragons, an influence rivalled only by that of Tolkien. Take a deep dive into how an obscure hobby popular among a handful of niche gaming communities in the Midwest became a global phenomenon with an outsized impact on the fantasy genre. Jacobs examines how the counterculture of the 1960s prepared fertile ground for the reception of Dungeons & Dragons, how the roleplaying gaming template was adapted to the computer gaming and paperback gamebook market, and the inadvertent free advertising provided by the so-called Satanic panic of the 1980s.
Additional Sessions of A History of Fantasy Series
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