Hauptseminar Gothic Fiction

The emergence of -Gothic- as a genre of fiction can be directly related to changes in cultural emphasis in the 18th century and to the European Romantic Movement. As a type of romance and a kind of pseudo-medieval fiction with a prevailing atmosphere of mystery and terror, the gothic novel was particularly popular from the 1760s onwards until the 1820s. Undergoing numerous revivals in the following centuries, gothic fiction was, among others, of importance in the evolution of the ghost story, the horror story and the presently popular vampire novels. This seminar provides on introduction to gothic fiction and the most significant debates and issues in gothic studies from the 18th to contemporary times. In the opening section, we will discuss the origin and development of the term 'gothic' and briefly explore its evolution in both literary and non-literary forms, such as art, architecture and film. We will learn about the recurrent concerns of the gothic (e.g. persecution, paranoia), dominant figures (evil monks, vampires, monsters) and key motifs (haunted castles, monasteries and ruins). In the next section, we will analyze significant literary works from the 18th and 19th century, ranging from Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764 [ISBN978-0-19-953721-1, Oxford World Classics), which initiated the gothic fiction vogue in England to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818; rev. 1831 [ISBN 978-0-19-953716-7, Oxford World Classics]) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897 [ISB 978-0-19-956409-5, Oxford World Classics]). In the final section, we move on to gothic fiction in the present time and critically study Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho (1991 [ISBN 978-0307278630, Vintage 2006]) and some chapters of Stephenie Meyer's modern vampire sage Twilight Series (2005 ff.) where the imaginative impulse was drawn from their gothic predecessors, yet which also move on to integrate new elements. Some selective scenes from film adaptations of the aforementioned works will round off this seminar. All participants are requested to obtain and read the aforementioned primary texts (please use the editions specified above). Further texts required for the seminar will be provided online (cf. DuE Publico). Anglistik Universität Duisburg-Essen SS 2012 Mag, Magisterstudiengang PD Dr. Ikas Karin