Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Gothic Literature (LLLG07111)
Course Outline
| School | Centre for Open Learning |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course will explore the origins and development of Gothic literature, tracing the cultural phenomenon from its original literary roots to its later manifestations in 19th, 20th and 21st-century culture. Students will read a selection of Gothic literature, spanning over 200 years, and will be asked to explore the key elements of the genre and examine the ways in which the genre has developed. |
| Course description |
The course will begin by tracing the roots of Gothic writing in the late 18th-century, considering and examining the fascination with cultural modes that pre-date the Age of Enlightenment (including ancient mythologies, paganism and Medieval and Renaissance Christianity). After studying an example of 18th-century Gothic fiction, we shall examine the mainstream of 19th-century Gothic fantasy, both in its early Romantic incarnation and in its later Decadent phase. We shall then examine some late 20th-century 'genre fiction', and conclude by considering examples of the Postmodern Gothic written in the early 21st-century. Throughout the course, we shall consider and evaluate the influence Gothic literature has on other forms of popular culture (film, TV, visual art, music, etc.), and on other genres such as horror and fantasy.
Through mini-lectures and tutorial discussion, students will be asked to consider the key elements, motifs, literary devices and stylistic characteristics of Gothic texts, and compare and contrast the use of these across the breadth of the reading list. In doing so, students will develop skills in close reading, critical analysis, academic writing and will gain confidence in sharing their ideas aloud during guided tutorial discussion. Students will be encouraged to read widely, and to use appropriately scholarly secondary reading and an awareness of contemporary responses to the texts to inform their discourse. Students will be asked to read the texts independently, and to then engage with them deeply through close-reading activities during class hours. Tutor-led discussion will take place in a supportive tutorial atmosphere. At each stage, students will be introduced to examples of film, music and visual art influenced by the Gothic genre, and be asked to consider the texts in their broader cultural context.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- 1.Identify key elements, motifs, literary devices and stylistic characteristics of the Gothic literature genre and compare and contrast these across a broad selection of texts;
- 2.Construct clear and coherent arguments using recognised critical terminology;
- 3.Examine Gothic literature's influence on other forms of popular culture, and demonstrate an awareness of the cultural and historical contexts in which the texts were written.
- 4.Interpret and evaluate secondary reading and contemporary responses to the texts, and use these interpretations when presenting arguments.
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Reading List
Brite, Poppy Z (2010) Lost Souls, London, Penguin Books
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
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 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical thinking
Analytical thinking
Communication of ideas and arguments, both orally and in writing |
| Keywords | Gothic,Literature,fiction |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Rachael King
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Kameliya Skerleva
Tel: (0131 6)51 1855
Email: |
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