Literary Monsters: Power, Culture, and the Meanings of Monstrosity

3 credits · Undergraduate credit

What is a "monster"? What social anxieties do monster stories help us explore? How do such stories challenge us to reconsider definitions of normalcy, selfhood, or status? Studying folklore, touchstone texts (Frankenstein, Dracula, others), and modern revisions, we consider how key tropes speak to race, class, sexuality, and other issues.