EN 2290 - Special Topics Genre

This course explores the literary and cultural roots of Horror Fiction and Horror Film, from the first Gothic romances to the phantasmagorical ghost stories that captivated popular reading audiences in the early nineteenth century, to the popular film adaptations of the early twentieth century which immortalized the images of Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster, to the early founders and the modern masters of the literary genre of horror, including Edgar A. Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Clive Barker, among many others. The course will ask students to consider the common social, psychological, and cultural sources of Horror’s lasting appeal-a genre whose popularity fuels its commercial success in bookstores and movie theaters despite its intended design of appalling and terrifying its readers and audiences. The course will also expect students to appreciate how Horror has evolved and shape-shifted over the centuries and between decades to continually tap into the particular personal and social fears of changing audiences. 3 hours Lecture and Discussion - 3 credits

Note: This course can be substituted for EN 2028 Introduction to Literature.

3 Hours Lecture
3