A Clash of Critics - Scholarly Criticism About A Song of Ice and Fire

In this episode we are joined by special guest Dr Shiloh Carroll to chat about medievalism in A Song of Ice and Fire, and explore how Sansa II sets up Martin's ideas about "romantic" vs "barbaric" medievalism. You can find Shiloh at shilohcarroll.wordpress.com and on Twitter @medievalismish. Shiloh's book Medievalism in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones is available now.   Mentioned in this episode: Carroll, S., 2018. Medievalism in a Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones (Vol. 12). Boydell & Brewer. Eco, U. 1973, Travels in Hyperreality. Trans. William Weaver. Harcourt, San Diego. Pugh, T. and A.J. Weisl. 2013, Medievalisms: Making the Past in the Present. Routledge, New York NotACast PodCast. 2018, “A Game of Thrones, Sansa II: ‘Better than the Songs.'” https://notacastasoiaf.podbean.com/e/episode-29-a-game-of-thrones-sansa-ii-better-than-the-songs-with-special-guest-chloe-aka-liesandarbor/  Young, Helen. 2012, ““‘It's the Middle Ages, Yo!': Race, Neo/medievalisms, and the World of Dragon Age.” Year's Work in Medievalism 27 Young, Helen. 2016, Race and Popular Fantasy Literature: Habits of Whiteness. Routledge, New York Ferreday, D., 2015. Game of Thrones, rape culture and feminist fandom. Australian Feminist Studies, 30(83), pp.21-36.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode, we consider how Tyrion engages in a type of "tourism" in his visit to the wall.   Mentioned in this episode: Frenzel, F., Koens, K. and Steinbrink, M. eds., 2012. Slum tourism: Poverty, power and ethics. Routledge.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode, we provide an introduction to what genre means, and how we might attach various genres and sub-genres to A Song of Ice and Fire.   Mentioned in this episode: Frow, J 2014, Genre, Taylor and Francis. Attebery, B 2018, "Introduction: Epic Fantasy", Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 1. Moorcock, M 1988, Wizardry and wild romance : a study of epic fantasy, VGSF, London.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we dip our toes into Marxist theory to chat about Jon's class privilege at the Wall.   Mentioned in this episode: Althusser, L, 1990. 'Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses' (1971), in Sharma, A., & Gupta, A. (Eds.). The anthropology of the state: a reader. John Wiley & Sons Marx, K. and Engels, F., 1970. The German Ideology (1846). International Publishers Co.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we discuss the introduction of a very important "character" in A Song of Ice and Fire: King's Landing.    Mentioned in this episode: Sertan Saral's episode of Trope Watchers: https://tropewatchers.podbean.com/e/military-tropes-in-star-wars-and-battlestar-galactica/ Massey, D., 2013. Space, place and gender. John Wiley & Sons. Williams, R., 2016. Resources of hope: Culture, democracy, socialism. Verso Books.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode, we look at the literal and symbolic function of the coma in fiction.   Mentioned in this episode: Colbeck, M 2014, 'Waking Is Rising and Dreaming Is Sinking': The Struggle for Identity in Coma Literature. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield. Porteous, J. Douglas and Smith, Sandra E. 2001, Domicide: The Global Destruction of Home. McGill-Queen's University Press. Said, E.W., 2013. Reflections on exile: and other literary and cultural essays. Granta Books. Vidler, A., 1992. The architectural uncanny: Essays in the modern unhomely. MIT press. Freud, S., 2003. The uncanny. Penguin.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode, we look at the role of non-human animals in ASoIaF and explore what it means for animals to be "killable."   Mentioned in this episode: Haraway, D. 2007, When Species Meet, U of Minnesota Press. Mehrabi, T. 2016, Making Death Matter: A Feminist Technoscience Study of Alzheimer's Sciences in the Laboratory, Linköping University, Linköping.    You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we return to the idea of grief to examine how grief becomes gendered and how particular ways of expressing grief are considered more or less acceptable.    Mentioned in this episode: Doka, K.J. and Martin, T.L. 2011, Grieving beyond gender: Understanding the ways men and women mourn, Routledge.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we consider to what extent the Night's Watch plays a role in the idea of restorative justice in Westeros and ask how we can begin to talk about "community service" when the service performed is either not recognised or valued by significant proportions of the community.   Mentioned in this episode: Rohani, S. and Abootalebi, H. 2015, "Mending Wall: A Study of Restorative Justice in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Tales of Dunk and Egg," k@ta, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 58–63. Zedner, L. 1994, "Reparation and retribution: Are they reconcilable," Mod. L. Rev., vol. 57, no. 2, p. 228. Foucault, M. 1977, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, translated by A. Sheridan, Penguin, London. Van Ness, D.W. and Strong, K.H. 2014, Restoring justice: An introduction to restorative justice, Routledge.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we ask what it means to be an honourable person and consider the normative weight of oaths in Eddard II.    Mentioned in this episode: Hahn, D. 2012, "The death of Lord Stark: The perils of idealism,"in H. Jacoby (ed.), Game of Thrones and philosophy. Logic cuts deeper than swords, Wiley. Schulzke, M. 2012, "Playing the Game of Thrones: some lessons from Machiavelli," in H. Jacoby (ed.), Game of Thrones and philosophy. Logic cuts deeper than swords, Wiley.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we discuss how the culturally familiar event of the wedding is used to 'Other' the Dothraki in Daenerys II.   Mentioned in this episode: Said, E.W. 1979, Orientalism, Vintage. Not a Cast Podcast (Episode 12: A GAME OF THRONES, DAENERYS II: “Forgetting to be Afraid”): https://notacastasoiaf.podbean.com/e/episode-12-a-game-of-thrones-daenerys-ii-forgetting-to-be-afraid/ Race for the Iron Throne (Daenerys II Analysis): https://racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/chapter-by-chapter-analysis-daenerys-ii/ Hardy, M. 2017, "The Eastern Question," Game of Thrones versus History: Written in Blood. "Pentoshi Honey Duck w/ orange snap peppers" recipe: http://www.innatthecrossroads.com/pentoshi-honey-duck-worange-snap-peppers/ "Dothraki Blood Pie" recipe: http://www.innatthecrossroads.com/dothraki-blood-pie/ The Sheik (1919) by E.M. Hull   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we are joined by special guest Dr Tobi Evans to chat about Arya and female masculinity in Jon II. You can find Tobi at https://likedrkarlbutqueerer.wordpress.com/ or follow them on Twitter @DrTobiEvans.    Mentioned in this episode: Halberstam, J. 1998, Female masculinity, Duke University Press. "Brienne and Arya: gender outlaws" (by Lo): https://lothelynx.wordpress.com/2020/08/27/brienne-and-arya-gender-outlaws/ Carroll, S. 2018, Medievalism in a Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones, DS Brewer. Not a Cast Podcast (Episode 8: A GAME OF THRONES, ARYA I “Needlework”): https://notacastasoiaf.podbean.com/e/episode-8-a-game-of-thrones-arya-i-needlework/ Evans, T. 2019, "Some Knights are Dark and Full of Terror: The Queer Monstrous Feminine, Masculinity, and Violence in the Martinverse," Journal of Language, Literature and Culture, vol. 66, no. 3, pp.134–156.   Also check out Jack Halberstam's blog post on Arya and Brienne in S8 of Game of Thrones: https://bullybloggers.wordpress.com/2019/05/21/a-knight-of-a-thousand-butches-by-jack-halberstam/    You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

This episode is the first in a series of special episodes on fandom in the world of ice and fire. This episode focuses on fan fiction and how we imagine the relationship between the author and the text. Mentioned in this episode: Jenkins, H. 2009, Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century, MIT Press. #NewPalmyra: https://newpalmyra.org/  Barthes, R. 1968, The death of the author. Foucault, M. 1969, What is an author? (Lecture at the Collège de France). Daniel Radcliffe on J. K. Rowling: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/2020/06/08/daniel-radcliffe-responds-to-j-k-rowlings-tweets-on-gender-identity/  Witch Please podcast: http://ohwitchplease.ca  "George RR Martin on Why He Hates Fan Fiction": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5g9-pfIImw&feature=youtu.be "George R.R. Martin: The Rolling Stone Interview": https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/george-r-r-martin-the-rolling-stone-interview-242487/  Fathallah, J. 2016, "Statements and silence: fanfic paratexts for ASOIAF/Game of Thrones," Continuum, 30(1), pp.75-88.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we discuss how the disabled body is constructed in ASOIAF against an imagined "normal" body, beginning with Tyrion I.   Mentioned in this episode: Davis, L.J. 1997, "Constructing Normalcy," in The Disability Studies Reader, Routledge. Coleman Brown, L. 1997, "Stigma: An Enigma Demystified," in The Disability Studies Reader, Routledge. Race for the Iron Throne (Tyrion I Analysis): https://racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/chapter-by-chapter-analysis-tyrion-i/    You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we explore how boyhood is imagined and idealised through the eyes of Bran in Bran II.   Mentioned in this episode: Jensen, H.S. and Qvistgaard, M. 2017, “'Oh, my sweet summer child' Children and Childhood in Game of Thrones," Game of Thrones versus History: Written in Blood, Wiley Blackwell. Jenkins, H. 2006, "Complete Freedom of Movement: Video Games as Gendered Play Spaces," in K. Salen and E. Zimmerman (eds.), The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology, The MIT Press.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we think about "legitimacy" in family units as a social, legal, and moral construct.   Mentioned in this episode: Finn, M., Lobban, M., Taylor, J.B. and Taylor, J.B. (eds.) 2010, Legitimacy and illegitimacy in nineteenth-century law, literature and history, Springer. Safire, W. 1985, "On Language; Unwed Words," The New York Times Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/11/magazine/on-language-unwed-words.html Liedl, J. 2017, "Rocking Cradles and Hatching Dragons: Parents in Game of Thrones," in B.A. Pavlac (ed.) Game of Thrones versus History: Written in Blood, Wiley Blackwell.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we return to Foucault to explore the love between Ned and Robert as a form of queer intimacy, as well as the grief they share over Lyanna's death.   Mentioned in this episode: Sedgwick, E.K. 2015, Between men: English literature and male homosocial desire, Columbia university press. "Friendship as a Way of Life" (interview with Michael Foucault in Le Gai Pied magazine in 1981, translated by John Johnston). Ben-Hur 1951 (film). Directed by William Wyler. The Celluloid Closet (documentary film). Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. Faderman, L. 1981, Surpassing the love of men : romantic friendship and love between women from the Renaissance to the present,  William Morrow & Company. Not a Cast Podcast (Episode 5: A GAME OF THRONES, EDDARD I: “This is Her Place”): https://notacastasoiaf.podbean.com/e/episode-5-a-game-of-thrones-eddard-i-this-is-her-place/  Till, K.E. 2005, The New Berlin Memory, Politics, Place, University of Minnesota Press.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we look at how homes and homelands are imagined by Cat and Dany, and discuss the role of prosthetic memory.    Mentioned in this episode: Porteous, J.D. and Smith, S.E. 2001, Domicide: The Global Destruction of Home, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal. Landsberg, A 2004, Prosthetic Memory: The Transformation of American Remembrance in the Age of Mass Culture, Columbia University Press. Proquest Ebook Central, New York.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode we explore how sovereign power is wielded in the North and consider the function of Gared's execution as a spectacle.    Mentioned in this episode: Foucault, M. 1977, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, translated by A. Sheridan, Penguin, London. Race for the Iron Throne (Bran I Analysis): https://racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/chapter-by-chapter-analysis-bran1/    You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

In this episode, we tackle the Prologue chapter of A Game of Thrones through the lens of the zombie-as-metaphor. We address some of the most pervasive interpretations of the Others in the fandom and ask more broadly: what can metaphors in fiction do? Mentioned in this episode: George R. R. Martin on the climate change metaphor: https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/1034790/Game-of-Thrones-George-RR-Martin-Night-King-White-Wakers-climate-change-Fire-and-Blood  Not A Podcast ASOIAF Re-Read Podcast (https://notacastasoiaf.podbean.com) Doyle, J. 2011, Mediating climate change, Ashgate Publishing, Burlington. Sheppard, S.R. 2012, Visualizing climate change: a guide to visual communication of climate change and developing local solutions, Routledge. Rutherford, J. 2013, Zombies, Routledge, London and New York.   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

We're back!  Mentioned in this episode: Harrison, M. 2018, “Power and Punishment in Game of Thrones,” in Joe Leeson-Schatz, Amber George (eds), The Image of Disability: Essays on Media Representations, McFarland Press, North Carolina. Harrison, M. 2019, “George R. R. Martin and the Two Dwarfs,” in Katie Ellis, Gerard Goggin, Beth Haller, Rosemary Curtis (eds), Routledge Companion to Disability and Media, Routledge, New York. Webster, S. 2016, "Post-Domicide Artefacts: Mapping Resistance and Loss onto Palestinian House-Keys," Cultural Studies Review, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 41–64. Wesbter, S. 2018, "Heritage Site Simulacra in VR: Transforming Mnemonics," Refractory, vol. 30. Not A Podcast ASOIAF Re-Read Podcast (https://notacastasoiaf.podbean.com) Girls Gone Canon Cast (https://girlsgonecanon.podbean.com) The Winterfell Huis Clos Blog (http://branvras.free.fr/HuisClos/HuisClos.html) The Meereenese Blot (https://meereeneseblot.wordpress.com) Race for the Iron Throne (https://racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com) Witch, Please (http://ohwitchplease.ca)   You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tropewatchers. If you enjoyed A Clash of Critics, check out our flagship podcast, Trope Watchers, the podcast about pop culture and why it matters: tropewatchers.com. CW: A Clash of Critics frequently discusses issues such as violence, abuse, sexual assault, bigotry, and other sensitive topics.

This video is an excerpt from a lecture in Introduction to Gender Studies delivered by Mia Harrison at the University of Sydney on May 16, 2019. The topic for this week was "Bodily Norms" and covered a broader discussion of disability and fat politics and scholarship. This excerpt only covers the portion of the lecture addressing disability in Game of Thrones, so there are some moments referring back to ideas addressed earlier in the lecture. All student contributions have also been cut out. To view a video version of the lecture with slides, you can watch the video on Youtube.