Gothic literature, theater, and (more recently) films have been a part of Western culture for over 250 years and have presented us, in disguise, with heightened -- and sometimes lurid and monstrous -- symbols of what really haunts us as a culture in our individual, social, and cultural sub-conscious.
This course will look at how the Gothic began as a literary form in the 1760's, how and why it has changed as a mode of fiction over time, and the ways in which it draws out repressed levels of belief and feeling in our culture. By the end, we will try to answer a basic question: What is this Gothic phenomenon really about, and why does it keep appearing (like a ghost or vampire) in different forms right down to today?