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The pur­pose of this course is to gain a bet­ter un­der­stand­ing of the pop­u­lar genre of the Gothic as it was de­vel­oped and prac­ticed in the late-eigh­teenth cen­tury and through to today in a va­ri­ety of cul­tural con­texts. An im­por­tant foun­da­tion to this class is the idea that the Gothic is more than sim­ply mys­te­ri­ous or strange; it is a trans­gres­sive and provoca­tive sort of strange. The course will focus on key con­cepts such as hor­ror, haunt­ing, mad­ness, mon­sters, and the un­dead, con­cepts that serve as entry points to the­o­ries such as the un­canny, queer­ness, and the sub­lime. Stu­dents will crit­i­cally read, an­a­lyze, and write about the ways that the Gothic ques­tions what it means to be nor­mal or ac­cepted. The class will learn about and prac­tice using tools for read­ing, in­ter­pret­ing, and crit­i­cally re­spond­ing to fic­tion, film, po­etry, and other cul­tural man­i­fes­ta­tions of the Gothic. In ad­di­tion, stu­dents will par­tic­i­pate in con­ver­sa­tions about con­tem­po­rary Amer­i­can iden­ti­ties and also en­gage in ex­pe­ri­en­tial learn­ing through field trips to Gothic ar­chi­tec­tural spaces.

The purpose of this course is to gain a better understanding of the popular genre of the Gothic as it was developed and practiced in the late-eighteenth century and through to today in a variety of cultural contexts. An important foundation to this class is the idea that the Gothic is more than simply mysterious or strange; it is a transgressive and provocative sort of strange. The course will focus on key concepts such as horror, haunting, madness, monsters, and the undead, concepts that serve as entry points to theories such as the uncanny, queerness, and the sublime. Students will critically read, analyze, and write about the ways that the Gothic questions what it means to be normal or accepted. The class will learn about and practice using tools for reading, interpreting, and critically responding to fiction, film, poetry, and other cultural manifestations of the Gothic. In addition, students will participate in conversations about contemporary American identities and also engage in experiential learning through field trips to Gothic architectural spaces.

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