Department of English

A look at various manifestations of the gothic in fiction and nonfiction prose.
We’ll begin with Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights, both of which make us consider the relationships between monstrous behavior and family dynamics.  Moving across the ocean, we’ll look at American Gothic, which is dramatically different from its British parents. We’ll read tales by Hawthorne, Melville and Poe, and then venture into the ghost story with Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. We’ll meet another ghost in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, explore nonfiction prose with Capote’s In Cold Blood, then conclude with Dracula.   We’ll also see clips from the many film versions of some texts. 

Requirements include brief weekly reading responses, a mid-term and a take-home final.
 
This course fulfills the Arts and Letters requirement in the College and in the School of Liberal and Professional Studies.