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| Semester | spring semester 2017 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Ladina Bezzola Lambert (ladina.bezzola@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Gothic fiction, a characteristically modern genre, is haunted by the past. It presents the relation between the modern world and the past "not as one of evolutional development, but of sudden juxtapositions and often violent conflict, in which the past erupts within the present and deranges it" (John Bowen). Gothic fiction is not just deranged by the past; it makes explicit all kinds of drives and anxieties that are controlled in more normal kinds of literature. This generates an aesthetic far away from the traditional concepts of 'decorum', 'verisimilitude', and 'realism'; an aesthetic characterized instead by exaggeration, sensationalism, sublimity, vulgarity, morbidity, iconoclasm. In addition to its aesthetic concerns, Gothic fiction - both eagerly devoured by a diverse readership and deplored as trash by literary critics in its day - has wider social and political implications, offering a psychological profile of a culture in turmoil. In this seminar, we are going to study examples of the genre from its early classics (dating from the second half of the late eighteenth century) to some famous later developments. We will discuss these novels in connection with a wide range of cultural phenomena. |
| Learning objectives | Students are introduced to a genre that importantly contributed to the development of the Romantic movement and which has offshoots to the present day. |
| Bibliography | Horace Walpole, "The Castle of Otranto" (1764; c. 100 p.); Matthew Lewis, "The Monk" (1796; c. 380 p.); Ann Radcliffe, "The Mysteries of Udolpho" (1794; c. 630p.); Mary Shelley, "Frankenstein" (1818; c. 215p.); James Hogg, "The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner" (1824; c. 250p.); Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (1886; c. 70p.) Please read these works in good critical editions (e.g., Penguin Classics or Oxford World Classics). The program will begin with Walpole's novel, which you need to have read by the beginning of the semester. I have indicated the approximate number of pages so that you can plan your reading ahead. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This course is open to MA-students and PhD-candidates. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul English & American Literature (Master's degree subject: English (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Literaturgeschichte (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul Research in Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | presentation, active participation |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |