Abstract
This article discusses the development and design of a ten‐week first‐year seminar course, which has been offered in various modalities (online synchronous as well as in person) at the University of Iowa. The course specifically focuses on teaching first‐year university students with limited background information about neo‐ and pseudo‐medieval concepts based on popular medieval story clusters (e.g., Arthurian lore, Robin Hood tales, Norse sagas), as evidenced in literature of the Middle Ages which has been (re)adapted in popular culture (visual media, literary adaptations, video games, etc.). First‐year students gain access to historical and scholarly contexts surrounding the stories and discuss how the Middle Ages (and its fandom) have inspired fantasy epics rooted in medieval‐ish universes (e.g., The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones), as well as video games and cosplaying events. Students review pop culture items, explore archival repositories, and complete a multimodal assignment based on course readings and individual research.
