ENGLISH 490/5490

THE GOTHIC NOVEL

FALL 2006

Instructor: Dr. Marrs

Office: 314 Jennings Hall

Office hours: M 10:00-12:00

MW 1:30-3:30

TTh 1:15-3:15

Prerequisites: Students should have completed or received credit for Eng 101 and 102, as well as 211, 212, and 213.

Course Description: A survey of the gothic genre from its beginnings through the twentieth century.

Rationale for English 490/5490:

1. The course fulfills part of the requirements for the English major at Mississippi College. It is designed to further students’ knowledge of this genre, to help students develop critical thinking and reading skills, and to enhance their appreciation of the arts and creative expression.

2. The course supports the mission statement of Mississippi College by offering students a traditional liberal arts content course which stimulates the students’ intellectual development and which through the reading of literature raises issues related to the living of a balanced, satisfied and meaningful life.

3. This course also satisfies part of the requirements for a major in English at Mississippi College by introducing students to the historical development of important texts, and significant contributions to the study of culture and literature.

Learning Objectives:

1. The student will learn to identify major writers of gothic novels, important texts, and the cultural contexts of those works

2. The student will continue to develop critical reading and thinking skills.

3. The student will continue to develop writing skills related to clear expression of ideas and support of those ideas within a well-developed essay.

Attendance: Your attendance is especially important in this class and your grade will suffer with more than a couple of absences! That is not a threat; it is an observation. Three absences equal a grade of F for the course. See pp. 54 of the General Bulletin for details and for the appeals process. Appeals of absences may be directed according to the guidelines in the General Bulletin: “If a student misses more than the number of class periods specified in university policy and believes that there are reasonable explanations for the absenses [sic], he/she may appeal the absences to the dean of the school in which the course is being taught. Students may obtain a Student Absence Appeal Form from the office of the appropriate dean” (p. 54).

Academic Integrity Statement: “Mississippi College students are expected to be scrupulously honest. Dishonesty, such as cheating or plagiarism or furnishing false information, including forgery, alteration or misuse of College documents, records or identification, will be regarded as a serious offense subject to severe penalty, including, but not limited to, loss of credit and possible dismissal” (MC General Bulletin, p. 57).

Text and Required Materials:

Walpole, Horace. The Castle of Otranto.

Beckford, William. Vathek.

Lewis, Matthew Gregory. The Monk.

Stoker, Bram. Dracula.

Rice, Anne. Interview with the Vampire.

Morrison, Toni. Beloved.

James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw.

490 Requirements

3 essay exams 50%

1 notebook of assignments 20%

Quizzes 10%

Annotated bibliography 20%

5490 Requirements

3 essay exams (with one extra essay) 50%

1 notebook of assignments 20%

Quizzes 10%

15-page paper with annotated bibliography 20%

BLUE BOOKS are required for all exams. Exams not written in blue books will be penalized 10 points.

Schedule

Week One

Aug.24: Introduction to the Gothic.

What is Gothic?

Week Two

Aug.31: The Gothic in Art and Literature.

Notebook entry #1: Define, as best you can, the gothic.

Week Three—PAPER TOPICS DUE

Sept.7: The Castle of Otranto, the gothic prototype.

Notebook entry #2: Reactions to The Castle of Otranto; three discussion questions for class.

Week Four

Sept.14—Class Four: Vathek and Orientalism

Notebook entry #3: Do you feel that Vathek is or is not a gothic novel? Discuss. List three discussion questions for Vathek.

Week Five: REPORT ON PROGRESS

Sept.21: The Monk, the sordid, and the profane.

Notebook entry #4: One-page reaction to the novel. Why might it have been so controversial and so popular? Three discussion questions.

Week Six

Sept.28: Exam #1

Week Seven

Oct.5: The Movies

Nosferatu

Bela Lugosi in Dracula.

Week Eight

Oct.12: Bram Stoker and Dracula

Notebook #5: Read and comment on Phyllis Roth’s “Suddenly Sexual Women” and Christopher Craft’s “’Kiss me With Those Red Lips’” in your Dracula text.

Week Nine: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND PAPERS DUE.

Oct.19: Hollywood and Horror

Movie: Interview with the Vampire

Week Ten

Oct.19: Interview With the Vampire: On to America.

Notebook #6: What are some comparisons and some contrasts between Dracula and Interview?

Week Eleven

Oct.26: Test #2

Week Twelve

Nov.9: Beloved: A Gothic Novel?

Notebook #7: How do you react to Beloved?

Week Thirteen

Nov.16: The Turn of the Screw

Notebook #8: What has really happened in this story?

Week Fourteen

Nov.23: Movie Version and Discussion

Week Fifteen

Nov.30: Review for the final.

The Notebook

Purchase a 1” three ring binder. All notebook entries should be kept in this binder.

Eight topics for the notebook entries are specified in the syllabus. Others may be added as necessary.

Entries MUST be TYPEWRITTEN, in Times New Roman 12 font. SINGLE spaced!

Bring your notebook to every class meeting. The instructor will make unannounced checks on your progress.

Notebooks will be due in class on Nov.16.

Annotated Bibliographies

Instructions for Undergraduates.

1. Pick one novel. Find five critical articles about that novel. Do not use summaries.

2. At the top of each page, cite the bibliographic data for that particular article. Use MLA documentation.

Double-space between this entry and your summary.

3. Write a summary and critique of the article. Single space this section, using TimesNewRoman font size 12.

5. Follow this pattern for each of the five articles you are reviewing.

6. Include photocopies of all your articles.

Instructions for Graduate Students

1. You must have at least eight sources for your term paper.

2. On your Works Cited page, follow each entry (MLA documentation) with a five-line summary of the author’s argument.