Intro to Genres: The Gothic Lens

This course will examine what is transfigured-tonally and imagistically, but also thematically and philosophically-when one approaches writing fiction through a Gothic lens. We'll treat the Gothic not merely as a pastiche or set of genre tropes, but as a specific mode of seeing and translating the world-of more accurately capturing the cultural, aesthetic, and personal vision of the author. Our readings will include some familiar classical texts as well as more contemporary and lesser-known works centered around London and its environs. We'll get a foundation in Romantic notions of the Gothic and follow these literary roots to how writers are employing it now, and then we will write and workshop our own "Gothic" scenes and narratives.