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CS92PROD
Twentieth-Century Gothic Fiction
ENGL 335
Fall 2018 not offered

The Gothic novel dates from the 18th century, but it is in the 20th century that the genre proliferates and expands, taking on new iterations that reflect a rapidly shifting world. In this course, we will examine the definition of the Gothic and trace its development in the fiction of the past century. Of particular interest will be how this genre has reflected, and responded to, cultural anxieties over gender, sexuality, and the body. How do the Gothic tropes of violence and horror come to represent readers' own fears, and how do readers take pleasure in exploiting such fear? To this end, we will look at the subgenres of "female," "male," and "queer" gothic, as well as the influence of the Gothic on popular genre fiction.

Finally, we will look at the Gothic in a global context and examine ways that this genre expresses contemporary concerns with the technologization of the body. Authors to be read will include Daphne du Maurier, Shirley Jackson, Angela Carter, Kazuo Ishiguro, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, and Patricia Highsmith, among others.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ENGL
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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