The Horror, the Horror

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Tutor: Professor Roger Luckhurst
• Assessment: a 5000-word essay (100%)

In this module we offer historical, theoretical and formal ways to think through horror fiction and film. Horror is a distinct genre of writing that emerges from the Gothic tradition. It explores extreme emotional states, terror often collapsing into its opposite: hilarity. We will explore some the dangers and terrors of this very modern genre, starting in the late nineteenth century with some of the foundational texts of the modern genre.

By the end of this module, you will:

• be able to understand this work formally, theoretically and historically
• have grasped the different ways in which the study of popular culture can be culturally significant
• have become versed in the theory of popular genre and current academic debates
• be able to grapple successfully with transdimensional squids.