CODE | LAS1070 | ||||||||
TITLE | Horror in Literature and Cinema: An Introduction | ||||||||
UM LEVEL | I - Introductory Level | ||||||||
MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
DEPARTMENT | Centre for the Liberal Arts and Sciences | ||||||||
DESCRIPTION | Why do we feel horror? Where does it come from? If we shun what causes grief, why are so many of us attracted, even fascinated, by stories that horrify us? Derived from the eighteenth-century Gothic tradition, horror literature and cinema is named after the feeling it aims to instil in its audiences through a diverse range of situations: otherworldly visitations, depraved aristocrats, perverse serial killers, the undead, the freak show parade, the occult ceremonies, lycanthropy. The horror genre is a transgressive genre. It delves into what is usually repressed by society, providing insights into issues that are often considered to be too extreme or taboo to be acceptable by other genres. It also explores forms of personal distress and trauma that we often repress in our subconscious. In its obsession on what is considered to be the ‘dark’ side to life, it can signal ways of responding to such issues in a constructive and ethical manner. This course will explore the nature of horror and the reasons it is present in our lives from a largely philosophical and psychological perspective. It will also provide a historical overview of the development of horror literature and cinema. Focus will be given to the themes and plot patterns of the genre in the twenty-first-century along with its various subgenres, including body, Lovecraftian, psycho, cosmic, and occult horror. Horror in other media, namely, social media andvideogames, will be constantly referenced and compared. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the Unit the student will be able to: - Gain a historical overview of horror literature and cinema, identifying their common plot structures and themes; - Present a coherent and detailed picture of the genre’s twenty-first century developments, main concerns, and future directions; - Reflect with more clarity on the nature of horror and the sources of literary and cinematic horror in our everyday life through an appreciation of several psychological and philosophical theories; - Discern the comparabilities and differences across the several horror subgenres; - Acquire a sense of the pervasiveness of representations and mythologies of literary and cinematic horror in culture since the late twentieth century. 2. Skills By the end of the Unit the student will be able to: - Elicit the techniques horror literature and cinema employ to affect horror; - Analyze contemporary works of the genre with a view to identifying concerns that go beyond issues involving theme, character, and plot; - Compare different traditions of horror literature and cinema, on bases of both range and detail; - Discern how the genre can provide a critique of our times along with tentative ethical solutions; - Engage with the genre through the application of several psychological and philosophical theories; - Speak and write with some confidence on the existential, societal, and political concerns reflected in recent horror literature and cinema. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Students will be asked to read some studies like the ones from the list below. Important articles on several aspects of the genre will be provided throughout the course. - Bloom, Clive, Gothic Horror: A Guide for Students and Readers (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). - Carroll, Noël, The Philosophy of Horror: Or, Paradoxes of the Heart (London and New York: Routledge, 1990). - Cavarero, Adriana, Horrorism: Naming Contemporary Violence (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009). - Frayling, Christopher, Nightmare: Birth of Horror (London: BBC Books, 1996). Halberstam, Judith, Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters (London and Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1995). Hills, Matt, The Pleasures of Horror (London: Continuum, 2005). Jones, Darryl (ed.), Horror Stories: Classic Tales from Hoffmann to Hodgson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014). - Horror: A Thematic History in Fiction and Film (London: Arnold, 2002). - Joshi, S. T., Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction, 2 vols (New York: Hippocampus Press, 2012). - King, Stephen, Danse Macabre (London: Hodder, 1991). - Punter, David, The Literature of Terror: A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day (London: - Longman, 1980). Townshend, Dale (ed.), Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination (London: British Library Publishing, 2014). - Tudor, Andrew, 'Why Horror? The Peculiar Pleasures of a Popular Genre', Cultural Studies, 11.3 (1997), 443-63. - Tymn, Marshall B., Horror Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide (London and New York: R. R. Bowker, 1981). - Wisker, Gina, Horror Fiction: An Introduction (New York: Continuum, 2005). |
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STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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LECTURER/S | David Vella |
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The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |