Introduction to Gothic Literature (10 credit points)

Content of Course

1. What Is Gothic?

Introduction and overview of the course, with film clips and short reading extracts.

2. A Subterranean Nightmare.

18^th Century Gothic and Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto.

3. Prisoners of the Past.

Gothic and 19^th Century Romantics. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”.

4. Artificial Paradise and Real Hell.

Gothic and 19^th Century Decadence. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death”.

5. A Legacy of Evil.

Gothic and the Femme Fatale. George MacDonald, Lilith (Part I).

6. Exorcising Eden.

Gothic and the Utopian Ideal. George MacDonald, Lilith (Part II).

7. Demons of the Mind.

20^th Century Gothic and Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca (Part I).

8. The Everyday Nightmare.

Psychological and Freudian Gothic and Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca (Part II).

9. The Exploding Self.

Post-Modern and 21^st Century Gothic. Tanith Lee, To Indigo.

10 Remembering the Future.

Gothic for the new millennium, with film clips and short reading extracts.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course students should be able to:

• Identify key elements of the Gothic genre, constructing clear and coherent arguments using recognized critical terminology;

• Evaluate the influence of Gothic literature on other forms of popular culture (film, TV, visual art, music, etc.), and assess the impact of Gothic literature on present-day social and cultural discourse;

• Identify the links between Gothic literature and its wider historical and social context and discuss the relevance of Gothic themes to contemporary social and cultural debates;

• Interpret and evaluate secondary reading and contemporary responses to the texts.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

• Du Maurier, Daphne (2015) Rebecca, London, Virago Modern Classics

• Groom, Nick (2012) The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford & London, Oxford University Press

• Lee, Tanith (2011), To Indigo, London, Immanion Press

• MacDonald, George (2013) Lilith: A Romance, New York, Stonewell Press

• Poe, Edgar Allan (2003), The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings, London, Penguin Classics

• Walpole, Horace (2008), The Castle of Otranto, Oxford & London, Oxford World’s Classics

The texts by MacDonald, Poe and Walpole are all available in a variety of editions. Any complete edition of the text will be suitable for this course.

Recommended:

• Botting, Fred (2013) Gothic (The New Critical Idiom), 2nd edition, London, Routledge

• Davenport-Hines, Richard (1998) Gothic: Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin, London, Fourth Estate

• Stevens, David (2000), The Gothic Tradition (Cambridge Contexts in Literature), Cambridge & London, Cambridge University Press

Assessments

10 credit courses have one assessment. Normally, the assessment is a 2000 word essay, worth 100% of the total mark, submitted by week 12. To pass, students must achieve a minimum of 40%. There are a small number of exceptions to this model which are identified in the Studying for Credit Guide.

Studying for Credit

If you choose to study for credit you will need to allocate significant time outwith classes for coursework and assessment preparation. Credit points gained from this course can count towards the Certificate of Higher Education.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.