English 386 / Summer 2016 / Studies in Literature & Film: American Horror

University Hall
Rm 318; MW 9:30am -12:00pm

Instructor Eric Hengstebeck

Office Hours: MW 1:00pm-2:00pm or by appt.
Peet’s Coffee (1622 Chicago Ave, Evanston)

What is unique about works of horror in American

Scholder, Fritz. Not Alone No. 10. 2001. Acrylic on Canvas.
Collection of Romona Scholder. Fritzscholder.com. Web. 07
May 2016.
literature and art? In this class we will connect
contemporary horror fiction to its origins in
eighteenth-century Gothic tales of Indian captivity,
frontier violence, and the terrors of slavery. We will
examine the rise of the Gothic and the related genre
of horror in relation to the philosophical, scientific,
and political thought of the Enlightenment, and
consider the legacies of racialization and nationalism
in the United States. By exploring the social and
political implications of Gothic tropes like madness
and paranormal encounters, students will learn how
to analyze the long history of fascination with the
macabre that is encoded in works of American
horror.

Books: Required books available at Norris Center Bookstore. Students should use these editions in
order to follow the seminar discussions. Recommended books available in eBook format at
Northwestern University Library.

[N] for texts at Norris Bookstore; [C] for Canvas; [L] for Northwestern University Library (Online
Edition)

Required Texts:
• Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Huntly; Or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker (Hackett Publishing)
[N]
• Octavia E. Butler, Kindred (Beacon Press) [N]
• Charles Chesnutt, Tales of Conjure and the Color Line: 10 Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) [N]
• Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories (Dover) [N]
• Shirley Jackson, Haunting of Hill House (Penguin)
• Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian: Or Evening Redness (Knopf Doubleday) [N]
• Edgar Allan Poe, Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Harper Collins) [N]
• Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (Penguin) [N]
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Recommended Texts:
• Joyce Carol Oates (Editor), American Gothic Tales (Penguin) [N]
• Toni Morrison, Playing in the Dark (Knopf Doubleday) [N]
• Charles L. Crow (Editor), A Companion to American Gothic (Hoboken: Wiley) [L]

Films: Available for streaming on Canvas Course Reserves.

• Rusty Cundieff, Tales from the Hood (1995)

• Jim Jarmusch, Dead Man (1995)
• Stanley Kubrick, The Shining (1980)
• Zacharias Kunuk, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
• Charles Laughton, The Night of the Hunter (1955)
• Roman Polanski, Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
• George A. Romero, Night of the Living Dead (1968)
• Donald Siegel, The Beguiled (1971)

Policies

Receipt of this syllabus constitutes your acknowledgment of the following policies:

1. No cellphones or earphones. If you are using any electronic devices not in the service of a
relevant course activity, you may be marked with an unexcused absence for the day.

2. All work must be typewritten unless otherwise specified. Handwritten work will not be graded.
Work without a name will not be graded. Typewritten work must be double-spaced, with 12-point
Times New Roman font, one-inch margins all around and in MLA style. A letter grade will be
docked for failure to use proper format. Points will be deducted for grammatical and typographical
errors.

3. I will not read full drafts of papers before the submission deadline, unless this is part of a class-
wide revision activity. I will answer questions, comment on thesis statements, outlines, etc.

4. Consult Canvas at least twice a week while class is in session. You will receive and will be
required to respond to important announcements, emails, etc.

5. You must bring the relevant books and printouts to class. Failure to do so may result in an
unexcused absence.

6. E-mail and Canvas correspondence must be conducted professionally and courteously. Include
a salutation (“Dear X” or “Dear Prof. X”) and a closing (“Sincerely, Y”). Any email message written
incoherently, informally, or ungrammatically will be returned unanswered. Assume at least a 48
hours reply time for email correspondence. Do not wait until the night before a deadline to send a
relevant email.
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Plagiarism
Plagiarism consists in failure to attribute your sources, to disguise another’s writing as your own, or
to submit work written for another class as if it were new. By official college policy
(http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/advising/academic.html), I am required to report suspicion of
plagiarism to the Dean’s office. A “positive finding” of plagiarism will result in an F grade in the
course and possible disciplinary sanctions.

You will be required to cite other scholars and writers in your work in appropriate ways. If you have
questions about proper citation practices, you are encouraged to consult the MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers, to make an appointment with the Writing Place
(http://www.writing.northwestern.edu/) or to address your concerns to me.

Attendance
Two or more absences may result in failure of the course. A single unexcused absence will result in a
reduction of your participation grade.

Reading/Viewing
Active reading/viewing of books/articles/films before each class is required. Lack of familiarity with
the basic features of class materials during discussion will be reflected in your participation grade.

CANVAS: Announcements, assignments, films, and other course materials will be available on the
Canvas Course Management System. Students are expected to check Canvas for regular updates.

WORK FOR THE COURSE:

Participation (15%): You must arrive to class on time with your text in hand. While active listening
is certainly an important skill, this course stresses verbal discussion and dialogue. You are
encouraged to contribute to course content and discussion by sharing, either in class on Canvas, any
connections you discover between past or present philosophy, history, art, politics, or pop culture
and the themes, myths, symbols, and ongoing conflicts and contradictions we will explore in this
class. Occasional quizzes may be given in class.

Visual Presentation (10%): You will each sign up on Canvas for one brief visual presentation
(~10 minutes). Your presentation should include at least 5 slides and at least 10 images.

Story Map (5%): You will design a full-color story map of one novel or film using, minimally, an 8
½ x 11 sheet of blank (unruled) paper or any software program of your choice. This will be a visual
representation of the elements of the story that you find most salient. These may include plot points,
setting, geography, character traits, problems and solutions, etc. You may add any graphics, graphs,
charts, or lists you deem necessary.

Canvas Discussion (10%): You are required to post at least three times to the Canvas discussion
board and to comment at least three times on posts by peers. Posts of about 300-500 words (one or
two thoughtful paragraphs) should be posted no later than 10 p.m. the evening before our class
meeting. These posts may reflect informally on any aspect of the reading for class. They should use
observations grounded in the literature or film to draw our attention to issues we may wish to take
 ENG 386 4

up in class discussion, or which stake out an intellectually adventuresome or polemical position. You
might also point to places where the works resist interpretation and possibly provide “documentary”
or “annotating” multimedia material (video clips, audio files, songs, photos, paintings) that
contribute to the discussion. Comments need only consist of a single, incisive question or a response
of two sentences. Be constructive. Don’t simply “agree” or “disagree.” Each post should seek to
build and invite further discussion in class. Sign up on Canvas no later than Monday, June 27.

Midterm Thesis Abstract (5%): 400-500 Words. Due July 6. This essay will present a working
abstract and outline of the topic you plan to write on for your midterm paper. Your writing should
be clear and precise, and your proposal should be appropriate for the size of the midterm
assignment (4-5 pages). While you will be able to incorporate this thesis draft into your midterm
paper, you should not carelessly include it in its entirety, without any editing work to adapt your
thoughts to a longer essay.

Midterm (20%): 4-5 pages. Due July 13. This essay should develop your Midterm Abstract into a
coherent argument that is supported with evidence through a discussion of one primary work from
the preceding unit of the syllabus. No outside research is expected for this essay, but you should
make at least a few comparative remarks to works read/viewed for the class in addition to your
“primary” object of study, and incorporate relevant themes and topics from the course to that point.

Final Thesis Abstract and Annotated Bibliography (10%). 400-500 Words (Not Including
Bibliography). Due July 20. This thesis abstract will delineate the theme and argumentative
contours of your final paper. It must include an annotated bibliography consisting of at least two
external sources that you plan to reference in your final essay and 2-3 sentences explaining how each
source will be useful for your project.

Final Paper (25%): 7-8 pages. Due July 27. Late work will be docked a letter grade for each day
late. Pay close attention to the time stamp on Canvas; even one hour late still counts as a day late.
Late assignments will not be accepted after four days. All papers must be submitted electronically to
Canvas in Microsoft word format (.doc).

Schedule of Meetings

[N] for texts at Norris Bookstore; [F] for films on Canvas; [C] for texts and files on Canvas

Origins of American Horror: The Frontiers of Gothic Terror

M June 20: Course Overview: What is the American Gothic?

Jim Jarmusch, Dead Man [F] (view first half in class)

Background reading (peruse over first few weeks of class): Teresa A. Goddu, Gothic America:
Narrative, History, and Nation (1997) (pp. 1-12) [C]; Robert Warrior, “Indian” in Keywords for
American Cultural Studies (Web) [C]; Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, “American Monsters” in A
Companion to American Gothic (2014) (Web) [C]
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W June 22: Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Huntly; Or, Memoirs of a Sleepwalker [N]

Jim Jarmusch, Dead Man [F] (view second half in class)

Founding Motifs of Gothic Symbolism

M June 27: Edgar Allan Poe, (Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe [N]: “The Raven” (pp. 73-77);
“Ligeia” (pp. 175-192); “The Fall of the House of Usher (pp. 216-237); “William Wilson”
(pp. 238-261); “The Man of the Crowd” (pp. 262-271); “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”
(pp. 272-312); “The Pit and the Pendulum” (pp. 366-383); “A Descent Into the Maelstrom”
(pp. 313-332); “The Tell-Tale Heart” (pp. 384-389); “The Imp of the Perverse” (pp. 472-
478); “The Black Cat” (pp. 390-400); “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” (pp. 479-489)

Charles Laughton, The Night of the Hunter [F]

+sign up for Presentation, Canvas Discussion, and Story Map

W June 29: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories [N]

Roman Polanski, Rosemary’s Baby [F]

Re-writing the Gothic

M July 4: ***No Class!
Charles Chesnutt, Tales of Conjure and the Color Line: 10 Stories [N]

Rusty Cundieff, Tales from the Hood [F]

W July 6: Shirley Jackson, Haunting of Hill House [N]

George A. Romero, Night of the Living Dead [F]

***Midterm Thesis Abstract Due!

Indigenous Gothic
M July 11: Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony [N] (first half)

Zacharias Kunuk, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner [F]

W July 13: Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony [N] (second half)

Jeff Barnaby, Rhymes for Young Ghouls (film will be shown in class)

***Midterm Due!

(Re)-turning to (Gothic) Horror

M July 18: Octavia E. Butler, Kindred [N] (first half)

Donald Siegel, The Beguiled [F]

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W July 20: Octavia E. Butler, Kindred [N] (second half)

***Final Thesis Abstract Due!

On the Frontiers of Horror

M July 25: Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian: Or Evening Redness [N] (first half)

John Carpenter, They Live (film will be shown in class)

W July 27: Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian: Or Evening Redness [N] (second half)

Stanley Kubrick, The Shining [F]

***Final Paper Due!