The Joy of Horror

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The course will examine a selection of fiction and cinema belonging to the genre of contemporary horror. Theorists such as Noelle Carroll, Julia Kristeva and Slavoj Zizek will be employed to approach topics of sexuality, gender, class, race and capital in a wide range of (global) horror texts and films. Exactly what constitutes modern horror? How endebted to US genre is it? To what extent are other cultures influenced by US cultural hegemony – and to what degree do other cultures (German, Japan, South Korea) influence contemporary US horror? Sample titles are featured below – in conjunction, the Cambridge Companion to Horror will also be utilized as a course text.