The Horror, the Horror
Overview
Module description
This course offers historical, theoretical and formal ways to think through horror fiction and film. Horror is a distinct genre of writing that emerges from the Gothic tradition. It explores extreme emotional states, terror often collapsing into its opposite: hilarity. We will explore some the dangers and terrors of this very modern genre, starting in the late nineteenth century with some of the foundational texts of the modern genre.
Learning objectives
- To be able to articulate an understanding of this work formally, theoretically and historically.
- To grasp the different ways in which the study of popular culture can be culturally significant.
- To become versed in the theory of popular genre and current academic debates.
- To be able to grapple successfully with transdimensional squids.
Recommended reading
General Reading
- Ken Gelder, Horror: A Reader (London: Routledge, 2000) - selected samples of criticism, including quite a few of the works mentioned below.
- Chris Baldick, Gothic Tales (Oxford UP, 1992) - good introduction too.
- John Clute, The Darkening Garden: A Short Lexicon of Horror (Seattle: Payseur and Schmidt, 2006).
- Fred Botting, Gothic (Routledge Critical Idiom, 1996) - good ‘theory’ intro.
- Fred Botting, The Limits of Horror: Technologies, Bodies, Gothic (London: Routledge, 2008).
- Markman Ellis, The History of Gothic Fiction (Edinburgh UP, 2000) - good on early origins.
- Andrew Smith, Gothic Literature (Edinburgh UP, 2007) - beginner’s guide.