This course is an introduction to classic Gothic literature and representations of the supernatural, with an emphasis on terror and horror, trauma and the body, and politics and history. Students will study classic literary texts and films covering topics such as ghosts and vampires, dreams and madness, the uncanny, and the haunted house. The course will typically analyze these materials from perspectives including historical contexts, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, science and medicine, environmentalism, and recent critical theory.

CILO-1: Identify Gothic literature, art, film, and culture of different historical periods, from the eighteenth century to the present day, and describe how it is affected by different social and intellectual contexts. CILO-2: Identify a range of styles, genres, and formats characteristic of the Gothic. CILO-3: Apply a variety of different critical and theoretical approaches to the Gothic. CILO-4: Learn how to describe and evaluate key themes or texts on the course.