Course description
This course will trace the nineteenth-century development of the Gothic novel, the literary ancestor of horror films and fantasy fiction. We’ll examine how the standard elements of Gothic fiction--supernatural encounters, monstrous transformations, outrageous villains, and unreliable narrators—contributed to our modern understanding of individual identity as complex and multi-faceted. We will supplement our two central novels, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with a range of short stories. Together, these works show how the Gothic explores the dark side of the human psyche that social conventions require us to repress. We will pay particular attention to how Gothic fiction allowed nineteenth-century writers to address anxieties about gender and sexual identities that they could not discuss openly.
Course description
This course will trace the nineteenth-century development of the Gothic novel, the literary ancestor of horror films and fantasy fiction. We’ll examine how the standard elements of Gothic fiction--supernatural encounters, monstrous transformations, outrageous villains, and unreliable narrators—contributed to our modern understanding of individual identity as complex and multi-faceted. We will supplement our two central novels, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with a range of short stories. Together, these works show how the Gothic explores the dark side of the human psyche that social conventions require us to repress. We will pay particular attention to how Gothic fiction allowed nineteenth-century writers to address anxieties about gender and sexual identities that they could not discuss openly.
Course objectives
This course should help you to do the following:
- Define and identify the conventions of Gothic fiction
- Explain how nineteenth-century writers used these conventions to explore the formation of individual identity
- Participate, using the conventions of academic writing, in critical conversations about the Gothic
Course structure
I’ve structured this course so that you can complete all of the work on your own time. The lectures will be posted no later than Monday at 10:30 each week, and your assignments (discussion postings or longer writing assignments) are due no later than Sunday at 11:59pm each week. Most weeks you will have three tasks to complete: a lecture to watch, a reading assignment to complete, and a short writing assignment to post to a discussion board.
The drawback to this format is that we will have very little face-to-face interaction. For those who would like the opportunity to ask questions or talk about the reading in question, I will hold virtual office hours from 10:30-11:30 on Wednesdays via Zoom. I will create a zoom meeting and anyone who wants to join in a conversation can do so at that time. I’m also available by appointment at other times, either by Zoom or good old-fashioned phone. You can reach me by email at js37@uw.edu or by text/phone at 206 326 9061.