The Horror, The Horror: Interpreting and Arguing the Gothic

This course seeks to understand key characteristics of the Gothic within several genres, such as poetry, drama, art, architecture, music, television, literature, and film. We will explore the different ways in which the Gothic is expressed and even argued, comparing the American mode with its European model, and tracing its inception from the eighteenth century to its modern permutations. Some key questions we will ponder include: How has the Gothic evolved over time and place? What, specifically, leads us to label a work as particularly Gothic? How do such definitions work contrary to or in tandem with our contemporary understanding of fear and terror?

Because this course is an advanced expository writing class, our emphasis will be on writing and understanding the various rhetorical methods used in different Gothic texts. In response to these works, we will apply methods of rhetorical and cultural analysis in order to understand an author’s argument, thinking and responding critically. We will look beyond “what” a gothic text says and focus on “how” it works within its larger cultural framework.

Assignments include: 1 major paper, several short response papers, revision assignments, in-class collaborative work, and 1 major project.