University of Glasgow launches unique Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic

With its turrets, vaulted cloisters and ornate decorations, the iconic University of Glasgow has a touch of magic about it. The main buildings could have come out of the pages of a fantasy novel and it has also been used as the location for top films and TV shows such as Outlander. Now academics will officially launch the first research centre in the world to focus solely on fantasy on Wednesday 16 September 2020. The Centre for the Fantasy and the Fantastic comes five years after Glasgow academics launched the world's first ever masters in Fantasy Literature. The unique centre, led by Dr Dimitra Fimi and Dr Rob Maslen, will bring together the biggest concentration of academics in this field working on a portfolio of research, knowledge exchange and educational activities. Dr Dimitra Fimi, a Senior Lecturer in Fantasy and Children's Literature, and specialist on J.R.R. Tolkien, based at the College of Arts, said: "This will be the first research centre in the world to focus solely on fantasy.