127010 KO Critical Readings in Literature (2021W)

From early Gothic romances to late Victorian imperial Gothic, the course will be dedicated to tracing the evolution of the genre by reading 150 years of British Gothic literature.

We will begin by analysing some of the key texts that helped define the genre (The Castle of Otranto; The Mysteries of Udolpho), as well as by questioning how later examples of Victorian Gothic engage with these early texts while steering the genre towards new directions (Northanger Abbey; The String of Pearls). We will then make our way through the nineteenth century and its different forms of Gothic, through with a focus on urban Gothic (The String of Pearls; Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde) but also on imperial Gothic ("Lot n°249"; The Beetle), as explored by Patrick Brantlinger in Rule of Darkness: British Literature and Imperialism, 1830–1914 (1988). Engaging in a critical reading of imperial Gothic works along with some of the major ‘monster stories’ of the nineteenth century (Frankenstein for instance, but also Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde) allows us to raise the issues of imperial expansion, of geographical exploration, of race, gender, sexuality, science, religion, and of realism versus romance, thereby allowing a richer perspective on Victorian culture and history as well as on Gothic fantasy.

In this course, participants will gain a knowledge of some of the major Gothic fiction texts ranging from the 18th century to the end of the 19th century, as well as an understanding of how the Gothic functions and how it evolved in response to significant historical and cultural contexts, through the study of a variety of authors and texts. The course will also enable participants to develop their practical skills in the critical analysis of literary texts, and will tackle the basic techniques of academic writing, such as how to structure a paper.