American gothic: the darker side of fiction

City Lit

Course

In London

£ 189 VAT inc.

The best Literature courses

See all

See all

Description

  • Type

    Course

  • Location

    London

  • Start date

    Different dates available

The course is an introduction to the genre loosely known as American Gothic - classic fiction exploring the darker themes of literature, from witchcraft in Puritan New England to psychological unease, from sexual oppression to racial anxiety and fear of the unknown.

Most of the texts we study will be short stories, with a few short novels.

Biographical information
Julian Birkett is a teacher and writer specialising in modern literature. He previously worked in the Arts department at the BBC as a producer of series such as The Late Show, Modern Poets in their Own Words, The Victorians and The Culture Show. He has taught in inner London and at the University of Mumbai.

Facilities

Location

Start date

London
See map
Keeley Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 4BA

Start date

Different dates availableEnrolment now open

About this course

• Recognise recurring themes in American fiction
• Relate these to the wider world of Western culture
• Feel confident enough to explore further study of related fiction on your own.

Many of the texts will be provided in advance.

However students should buy/borrow the following editions:

Henry James The Turn of the Screw Penguin (Classics ed Anthony Curtis

Flannery O’Connor A Good Man is Hard to Find (Faber Modern Classics)

Shirley Jackson We have always lived in the castle (Penguin Modern Classics afterword by Joyce Carol Oates)

Apart from the reading material, you should bring with pens, notepaper and file in which to store handouts and other course materials.

The course is an interactive mixture of tutor exposition and class discussion. Videos and clips will also be shown and discussed. You will asked to read the texts before the class.

Questions & Answers

Add your question

Our advisors and other users will be able to reply to you

Who would you like to address this question to?

Fill in your details to get a reply

We will only publish your name and question

Reviews

Course programme

We will consider the social and cultural conditions of American society that produced such a range of impressive and disturbing writing such as Hawthorne’s tales of Puritan hypocrisy, Melville’s early portrayals of peculiarly American angst such as Bartleby , the psychological horror of Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic tale of a woman’s disintegration The Yellow Wallpaper and the often blackly humorous tales of Shirley Jackson and Flannery O’Connor.

Additional information

Look for other literature courses under History, Culture and Writing at General information and advice on courses at City Lit is available from the Student Centre and Library on Monday to Friday from 12:00 – 19:00. See the course guide for term dates and further details

See related categories

American gothic: the darker side of fiction

£ 189 VAT inc.

The best Literature courses

See all

See all