Oral Presentations
Reevaluating Fantasy Through a Bronze Age Lens
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Robert Stubblefield
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Creative Writing
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Over the history of fantasy, the primary source of inspiration has been the European Middle Ages. While some modern fantasy stories, such as the works of Marlon James and R.F. Kuang, take influence from African, Asian, and Middle Eastern history and culture, the genre as a whole has remained entrenched in the technology and culture of Medieval Europe. The purpose of the novel Gold, Salt, and Dust is to add ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean influences to the genre, with specific attention to the unique technologies and cultures of the Bronze Age. The project focuses on three point-of-view characters of different beliefs, backgrounds, and statuses to show this fictionalized version of Bronze Age life from all angles as their lives converge due to rising tensions and violence.
Gold, Salt, and Dust draws on both ancient and modern writings on Bronze Age life, culture, and history to create a faithful and detailed depiction of how this ancient era would look on an alternative world. The inspiration for this project is the fascinating, captivating, and often mysterious reality of the world’s first civilizations, specifically Sumer, Akkad, and Elam. Within the genre of fantasy, this project follows the grounded and grim approach of Andrzej Sapkowski, Tad Williams, and George R.R. Martin, where human struggles and conflicts of the heart take priority over fantastical elements. Gold, Salt, and Dust aims to expand the fantasy fiction genre by taking influence from a fascinating era of human history that is underexplored in literature as a whole and fantasy in particular.
Category
Visual and Performing Arts (including Creative Writing)
Reevaluating Fantasy Through a Bronze Age Lens
UC 332
Over the history of fantasy, the primary source of inspiration has been the European Middle Ages. While some modern fantasy stories, such as the works of Marlon James and R.F. Kuang, take influence from African, Asian, and Middle Eastern history and culture, the genre as a whole has remained entrenched in the technology and culture of Medieval Europe. The purpose of the novel Gold, Salt, and Dust is to add ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean influences to the genre, with specific attention to the unique technologies and cultures of the Bronze Age. The project focuses on three point-of-view characters of different beliefs, backgrounds, and statuses to show this fictionalized version of Bronze Age life from all angles as their lives converge due to rising tensions and violence.
Gold, Salt, and Dust draws on both ancient and modern writings on Bronze Age life, culture, and history to create a faithful and detailed depiction of how this ancient era would look on an alternative world. The inspiration for this project is the fascinating, captivating, and often mysterious reality of the world’s first civilizations, specifically Sumer, Akkad, and Elam. Within the genre of fantasy, this project follows the grounded and grim approach of Andrzej Sapkowski, Tad Williams, and George R.R. Martin, where human struggles and conflicts of the heart take priority over fantastical elements. Gold, Salt, and Dust aims to expand the fantasy fiction genre by taking influence from a fascinating era of human history that is underexplored in literature as a whole and fantasy in particular.