Classics of Horror

Classics of Horror is an English selective that gives the student an opportunity to thoroughly study and investigate the world of the horror story. The student will be asked to pay particular attention to the role of invasion, isolation, madness, pride, and family in the assigned texts. This course will focus on character and setting as a function of the Gothic novel and horror film. The student will learn to recognize common elements and themes and will learn to identify the relevance of social, historical and political context. Shelley, Stoker, and Stevenson have created texts that have haunted us for decades. Their respective “monsters” have become a part of the American psyche as well as part of our own “cultural literacy.” Frankenstein, Dracula, and Hyde have developed into symbols for Fear, Social Degeneration, the destructive power of the Ego, and the “Other.”