ENG 255 / WLIT 215: Global Gothic
Cross listed in the English Department and World Literature Program
This course introduces students to the critical study of Gothic literature in a global context. Students will read widely in works by writers from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America among others. We will explore how different literatures define the Gothic and explore relevant regional folklore such as the hungry ghost in Chinese and Vietnamese traditions, the yūrei ghosts in Japan, and the draugr, or the undead, in Scandinavian traditions. We will also explore how writers use the Gothic genre to confront and address political anxieties and colonial traumas, such as the Tropical Gothic of writer Nick Joaquin whose stories explore the lasting impacts of Spanish and American colonialism in the Philippines. Students will leave the course with an appreciation and understanding of Gothic literature beyond the haunted houses and graveyards of American and British literature and with the critical skills to identify Gothic literature and traditions from around the world.
