The Modern Gothic
English 6396
Syllabus in progress
Dennis Foster
Fall, 1999
Office: 5 Dallas Hall
Tele: X2921, 214/828-4895 (home)
Email: dfoster@mail.smu.edu
URL: www.smu.edu/~dfoster/gothic/syllabus.htm
Books:
W.S. Burroughs, Cities of the Red Night
William Faulkner, Abaslom, Absalom!
Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Henry James, "The Turn of the Screw" and other Short Novels
Gayl Jones, Corregidora
Matthew Lewis, The Monk
Toni Morrison, Beloved
Bram Stoker, Dracula
Recommended:
Mark Edmundson, Nightmare on Main Street: Angels,
Sadomasochism, and the Culture of Gothic
Films:
David Lynch, Blue Velvet
Todd Haynes, Safe
Stanley Kubrick, The Shining
The Literary Gothic Web Page (http://www.siue.edu/~jvoller/gothic.html):a
rich source of primary and secondary materials.
The Gothic: Materials for Study (http://www.siue.edu/~jvoller/general.html):
produced by graduate students in a course taught by Jerome McGann and Patricia
Spacks.
Schedule
|
Aug |
23 |
Introduction: Freud, "The Uncanny"; E.A. Poe, "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" |
|
|
30 |
Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle; John L'Heureux "The Anatomy of Desire"; Joyce Carol Oates, "The Temple"; Blue Velvet (film) |
|
Sept |
6 |
Labor Day: no class |
|
|
13 |
Lewis, The Monk |
|
|
20 |
Stoker, Dracula |
|
|
27 |
Dracula (cont.) |
|
Oct |
4 |
James, "The Turn of the Screw" |
|
|
11 |
Fall Break: no class |
|
|
18 |
James, "The Aspern Papers"; The Shining (film) |
|
|
25 |
Faulkner, Abaslom, Absalom! |
|
Nov |
1 |
Absalom (cont.) |
|
|
8 |
Morrison, Beloved |
|
|
15 |
Beloved (cont.) ; Jones, Corregidora |
|
|
22 |
W.S. Burroughs, Cities of the Red Night |
|
|
29 |
Safe (film) |
|
Dec |
6 |
Seminar paper due |
Requirements
Each of you will be responsible for writing two primary responses to the readings for your chosen days, due to be emailed to the class by Sunday the day before class. You should be prepared to present your ideas orally to the class as well.
You will also be responsible for producing a report on topics to be determined soon.
The seminar paper should be 15-20 pages on a topic to be developed in consultation with me.