ENGH 458: RS: Topics in Literary Research

ENGH 458-001: Brkn Homes: Hauntngs & Monstrs
(Spring 2020)

12:00 PM to 01:15 PM TR

Section Information for Spring 2020

Spring 2020

Broken Homes: Hauntings and Monsters

 

What do ghosts want? Why do monsters rise up when and where they do? And how do hauntings and monsters both create and reflect family traumas? This course will be a field guide to the undead presences and monstrous entities in some very spooky works of fiction: Frankenstein, The Haunting of Hill House, and A Head Full of Ghosts, to name three. As Avery Gordon argues in her book Ghostly Matters, "When a ghost appears, it is making contact with you; all its forceful if perplexing enunciations are for you." And so it seems important to try to understand what ghosts—and monsters—have to say

 

—about family traumas and horrors: the ways things can go so horribly wrong, the ways homes become broken homes and houses become haunted houses, and the reasons why horror works so uncomfortably well as a way of exploring and attempting to understand these traumas

 

—about our environments (because ghosts choose their locations carefully and because, as historian Coll Thrush observes, "examining ghost stories can be a sort of place-based methodology, in which hauntings gesture toward salient conflicts and patterns in the history of conquest. A ghost, in effect, is a place's past speaking to its—and our—present.")

 

—and about much more.

 

As Gordon writes, "we will have to learn to talk to and listen to ghosts, rather than banish them" if we want to understand ourselves and our worlds. This is the work we'll do together, with ghosts. And monsters.

 

Please note that English 458 is a Mason Core capstone course in research methods. Enrollment is controlled; if you are interested in this class, please contact Professor Eric Gary Anderson at eandersd@gmu.edu

ENGH 458 001 enrollment is controlled. Students must contact the instructor, Professor Anderson (eandersd@gmu.edu), for approval to register.

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Topic-based course in research methods. Students conduct advanced research in literary studies using traditional and digital research tools and approaches. Notes: May be repeated when the topic is different. May be repeated within the degree.
Mason Core: Capstone
Specialized Designation: Research/Scholarship Intensive, Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: ENGH 305 (3 credit) and 85 credit hours earned.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.