The Monstrous and the Terrible: Horror

Course not open to BFA1 students.
The Monstrous and the Terrible: Horror
Since Hawthorne and Poe, American fiction has
flirted with horror. This class will look at
horror as a mode, thinking about how it operates
differently in fiction and in film. We will read
selections from classic and contemporary stories
and think about what makes horror successful.
We'll consider John Clute's distinction between
terror fiction and horror fiction, think about
the roots of the genre, and think about where
fictionalized horror still might go. We'll
consider the ghost story, serial killers, the
supernatural, and other touchstones, looking at
particular stories or films in which they have
particularly vivid or interesting expression.
What does horror have to teach us about life in
America? Do horror films allow for different
sorts of things than horror fiction? We'll use
such discussion to elicit new works that are
creative and/or critical, and think about what,
as a mode, horror can offer to artists today.