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| Semester | spring semester 2023 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Daniel Ortiz (daniel.ortiz@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | H.P. Lovecraft called fear "the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind." This class will be about the literature of fear in America. We will pay particular attention to the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe and Lovecraft before reading three representative twentieth-century horror novels and watching the film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". We will supplement our primary texts with critical pieces dealing with questions about horror’s status as a relatively new genre based on ancient emotions, its aesthetic value along with its moral and political complexities, and its distinctively American development of the European Gothic tradition. Our texts will include ghosts, madmen, witches, serial killers, cults, telekinetic powers, unnamed and unnamable cosmic beings, cannibalism, and Wall Street financiers: everything strange and terrible lurking in the backwoods, suburban lawns, and city-streets of the United States. |
| Learning objectives | Students will gain an in-depth understanding of horror as a genre and its place within the literary culture of the United States. We will approach our texts with careful attention to their formal, aesthetic features while also employing a range of theoretical methods. |
| Bibliography | Please purchase the following texts in their respective editions, available at the Labyrinth bookstore: - Shirley Jackson, "The Haunting of Hill House" (Penguin). - Stephen King, "Carrie" (Anchor). - Brett Easton Ellis, "American Psycho" (Knopf). All other texts will be uploaded on ADAM. |
| Comments | Please note that our course material—particularly "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "American Psycho"—contains violent, disturbing imagery. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This seminar is for BA students on the advanced level who have completed ALL three introductory modules (including the proseminar papers). |
| Course application | Please sign up via services.unibas.ch and by e-mail to daniel.ortiz@unibas.ch. Places are limited to 25. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, optional |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Monday | 10.15-12.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 103 |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 20.02.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 27.02.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Fasnachstferien |
| Monday 06.03.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 13.03.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 20.03.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 27.03.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 03.04.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 10.04.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Ostern |
| Monday 17.04.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 24.04.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 01.05.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Tag der Arbeit |
| Monday 08.05.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 15.05.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 02 |
| Monday 22.05.2023 | 10.15-12.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 103 |
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | The course will require regular attendance and participation in class discussions. |
| 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 |