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This seminar will investigate American Gothic fiction, one of the most popular genres in American literature from the time of Independence to the present. After an introduction to the genre of Gothic fiction, its subgenres, traditions and developments, we will discuss differences between American Gothic fiction and its European predecessors/counterparts. Our corpus of primary texts, predominantly short stories, will introduce different American Gothic traditions like “frontier Gothic” or “Southern Gothic.” Previous to our discussion of primary texts, students will be provided with a selection of theoretical readings, helping to define terms and concepts important for Gothic fiction. In the seminar discussion, we will identify typical features and elements of Gothic literature and discuss their relevance: How is the uncanny, unknown or irrational constructed? How do spooky Southern plantations, mysterious mansions or thunderstorms feature in the texts? What is the function of sinister strangers, ghosts, vampires or monsters? Is a belief in rationality and progress oppositional to Gothic’s skepticism and irrationality or is this “the other side” of the same coin? In what ways can Gothic fiction be read as giving voice to suppressed groups or as possibility to represent silenced/marginalized themes like racism, sexism or slavery? Our primary texts will include short stories from Charles Brockden Brown’s “Somnambulism” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "Young Goodman Brown" over Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher" to more recent short stories by Carson McCullers and Flannery O’Connor as well as excerpts from Jewell Gomez’s The Gilda Stories.
Readings:
Most primary texts and a selection of secondary material will be made available.
Requirements:
Active participation, including reading and writing assignments, participation in class discussion, a short presentation and a seminar paper. |
