Information Package
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Program of American Culture and Literature (English)

ACL488

GOTHIC FICTION

Course Code
ACL488
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
4
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS4
Name of Lecturer(s) -
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Develop critical and theoretical approaches to American Gothic Fiction.
  2. Contextualize and historicize characteristics of American Gothic Fiction.
  3. Relate American Gothic Fiction to the gothic tradition.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme Components
Course DescriptionThis course presents a historical survey of the development of Gothic fiction in the US, from the 19th century to the contemporary period, with a particular focus on the Southern Grotesque. The aim of this course is to acquaint students with the dominant themes of Gothic literature such as the uncanny, the double, violence, and fear, the literary motifs based on the dichotomies of good and evil, light and dark, rationality and irrationality, real and fantastic, sacred and profane, supernatural and natural, past and present, and civilized and barbaric and the narrative techniques that emphasize the stereotypical characteristics of the Gothic genre such as excess, transgression, and ambiguity through a selection of Gothic works.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction: The Gothic Tradition
2nd Week The generic and narrative characteristics of gothic fiction
3rd Week Southern Gothic
4th Week Edgar Allan Poe: Selected Stories
5th Week H. P. Lovecraft: Selected Stories
6th Week Flannery O'Connor: Selected Stories
7th Week Midterm
8th Week Joyce Carol Oates: Selected Stories
9th Week The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
10th Week The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
11th Week Stephen King: Selected Stories
12th Week Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
13th Week Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
14th Week Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
Recommended or Required ReadingCornwell, Neil. The Literary Fantastic: from Gothic to Postmodernism. 1990.
Ellis, Markman. The History of Gothic Fiction, Edinburgh University Press, 2001.
Heiland, Donna. Gothic and Gender: an Introduction. Blackwell, 2004.
Mulvey, Roberts Marie. The Handbook to Gothic Literature. Macmillan 1998.
Norton, Rictor. Gothic Readings: The First Wave, 1764-1840. Leicester UP, 2000.
Punter, David. A Companion to the Gothic. London: Blackwell, 2001.
Punter, David. The Literature of Terror: A History of Gothic fictions from 1765 to the Present Day. Longman, 1996.
Spooner, Catherine, ed. The Routledge Companion to Gothic. Routledge, 2007.
Wright, Angela. Gothic Fiction. Palgrave 2007.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
  • Presentation
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 30
Assignment 1 15
Quiz 1 10
Presentation of Article 1 5
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 2 2
Preparation for Quiz 1 4 4
Individual or group work 14 3 42
Preparation for Final exam 1 8 8
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 8 8
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 2 2
Homework 1 5 5
Article Presentation 1 5 5
Total Work Load118
Total Work Load / 30 (h)3.93
ECTS Credit of the Course4
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

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