Course Description

Horror is one of the most popular and viscerally affecting genres of literature and film. Examining the peculiar appeal of the scary, the shocking, and the monstrous, this course focuses on examples of the horror genre from a chronological viewpoint, looking at what scares us and why we like to be scared from the ancient Greeks to modern times. Throughout the semester we will delve into how the horror genre explores varied themes of difference in works related to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. This course considers the genre’s enduring popularity, and why the horrific serves as such a fertile ground for a broad range of cultural and political perspectives.

Texts

Play/Novels:

Euripides, The Bacchae (translated by Paul Woodruff)

Shelley, Frankenstein

Stoker, Dracula

Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Jones, Stephen Graham The Only Good Indian

Due, The Good House

La Valle, The Ballad of Black Tom

Short Stories:

Selections from:

Shirley Jackson, H.P. Lovecraft

Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories

Films:

Dracula 

An American Werewolf in London

3-5 films chosen by students

Requirements

We will read excellent books and watch lots of scary movies. This course will focus on class discussion, writing, research and presentation skills, and a final creative project.

About the Instructor(s): Jonatha Kottler

I have a real love/hate relationship with being scared. When I was a kid my older siblings used to scare me like crazy, and so I enjoy the sensation of being scared, but I also have to cover my eyes and hide when things get intense. We will explore why it is that people enjoy being frightened, and what kinds of things (besides my brother!) scare us.