English 527 (#21211)
Fall 2014
MWF 10:00 – 10:50 am
Room: HH 222
Phillip Serrato
Office: AL 225
Email: pserrato@mail.sdsu.edu
Office hour: M 11:00 am – noon
and by appointment
Gothic and Horror
“There are certain themes of which the interest is all-absorbing, but
which are too entirely horrible for the purposes of legitimate fiction.”
-- Edgar Allan Poe, “The Premature Burial”
Whether you are a fan of G/gothic and horror or just curious about how one undertakes the
critically and theoretically rigorous study of G/gothic and horror texts, you will find this section
of English 527 an intriguingly macabre intellectual playground. We will explore the social,
political, historical, and aesthetic significance (and innovations) of an array of texts from
different time periods, different places, and different genres.
Objectives
Continue the broadening of your knowledge of and facility with different literary and textual
types and traditions as well as different critical and theoretical methodologies.
Continue grooming the rigor, sophistication, and dexterity of your reading, writing, thinking, and
speaking skills.
Nurture your ongoing scholarly growth (irrespective of your postgraduate intentions).
Develop your specialized ability to work with G/gothic and horror texts.
Required Books
The following books are available at the Bookstore and online at www.bookfinder.com:
Matthew Lewis, The Monk (Penguin 0140436030)
Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera (Signet 0451531876)
Bram Stoker, Dracula (Dover 0486411095)
Robert Bloch, Psycho (1590203356)
Thomas Tryon, The Other (1590175832)
Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle (0143039970)
Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire
Ira Levin, Rosemary’s Baby
Darren Shan, Zomb-B (9780316214407)
Sara Gran, Come Closer
Course Grade
Writing exercises
Midterm Exam
20%
25%
Final Exam
Paper
25%
30%
Be Here Now
Generally speaking, your learning depends on your presence in class. So, come to class. In-class
work cannot be made up.
In-class Work
To prod your thinking about specific issues and ideas related to the assigned reading, some class
meetings might begin with some kind of a brief writing assignment.
Students with Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it
is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any
delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as
soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that accommodations
based upon disability cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an
accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Academic Dishonesty
Any act of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of “F” for the course and referral to
appropriate student conduct officers.
Schedule
Week 1
M Aug 25
Introduction
W Aug 27
Lewis, The Monk (chapter 1) (1795)
Hawthorne, “The Minister’s Black Veil” (1889) (available at
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13707/13707-h/13707-h.htm#minister)
F Aug 29
Lewis, The Monk (chapter 2)
Week 2
W Sep 3
Lewis, The Monk (chapters 3-4)
Mills, “Harry Potter and the Terrors of the Toilet”
F Sep 5
Lewis, The Monk (chapters 5-6)
Week 3
M Sep 8
Lewis, The Monk (chapters 7-9)
W Sep 10
Lewis, The Monk (chapter 10)
F Sep 12
Lewis, The Monk (all)
Week 4
M Sep 15
Stoker, Dracula (1897) (chapters 1-7)
W Sep 17
Stoker, Dracula (chapters 8-11)
F Sep 19
Stoker, Dracula (chapters 12-16)
Week 5
M Sep 22
Stoker, Dracula (chapters 17-23)
W Sep 24
Stoker, Dracula (all)
Judith Halberstam, “Technologies of Monstrosity: Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (from
Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters)
F Sep 26
Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera (1910) (chapters 1-4)
Week 6
M Sep 29
Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera (chapters 5-13)
Anna Harwell Celenza, Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre (2013) (in-class reading)
W Oct 1
Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera (chapters 14-20)
F Oct 3
Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera (all)
Donald Reid, “Introduction” and “Sewers and Social Order” (from Paris Sewers
and Sewermen: Realities and Representations)
Week 7
M Oct 6
Bloch, Psycho (1959)
W Oct 8
Bloch, Psycho
F Oct 10
Bloch, Psycho
Week 8
M Oct 13
Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962)
W Oct 15
Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle
F Oct 17
Midterm Exercise
Week 9
M Oct 20
Archival excursion
W Oct 22
House of 1000 Corpses (2003; Dir. Rob Zombie)
F Oct 24
House of 1000 Corpses
Week 10
M Oct 27
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993; Dir. Tim Burton)
W Oct 29
The Nightmare Before Christmas
F Oct 31
Rice, Interview with the Vampire (1976)
Week 11
M Nov 3
Rice, Interview with the Vampire
W Nov 5
Rice, Interview with the Vampire
F Nov 7
Rice, Interview with the Vampire
Week 12
M Nov 10
Tryon, The Other (1971)
W Nov 12
Tryon, The Other
F Nov 14
Tryon, The Other
Week 13
M Nov 17
Archival exercise due
Levin, Rosemary’s Baby (1967)
W Nov 19
Levin, Rosemary’s Baby
F Nov 21
Levin, Rosemary’s Baby
Week 14
M Nov 24
Gran, Come Closer (2003)
Week 15
M Dec 8
Shan, Zom-B (2012)
W Dec 10
Final exercise
Final papers due December 17 in AL 225 by noon.