Admission requirements
BA (or equivalent) degree in a relevant field (see Admission requirements MA Literary Studies).
Description
Gothic, Horror, SF and Noir fiction are four of the most well-established popular-culture genres exploring the presence of evil in human societies. Each in its own way, seeks out and explores the darker corners of a particular culture, at a particular time, shining a light on what often goes unseen by the shiny veneer of civilzation. Since the rise into popularity of the Gothic novel in the late eighteenth century, these genres have been criticized at various moments (Colerdige, Wertham, the NVLA, for instance) for their potential to corrupt innocent readers and viewers. Taking a different approach, this course focuses specifically on the ways in which Gothic, Horror, SF and Noir can be understood as genres of popular fiction deeply concerned with ethics (with a heritage going back to the medieval morality play). Through their interest in the dark, grotesque, weird and alien such fictions confront readers and viewers with the downside of dominant ideologies, common sense notions of normality and other forms of conventional wisdom that influence widespread beliefs about right and wrong, good and evil. In doing so, these fictions often express nuanced and challenging perspectives on human ethical standards and behaviours that critically engaged readers can operationalise in their exploration of contemporary real-life ethical conundrums.
Course objectives
By the end of the course, students
Will have further developed their academic research and analytical skills in relation to ethical theory and the study of popular-culture productions in the genres Gothic, Horror, SF, and Noir.
Will be able to apply the critical insights developed from the study of ethics in popular-culture productions to the exploration of real-life ethical challenges in social, economic, political and scientific-technical areas.
Will have developed the specific transferable skill of making a conference poster presentation, which will also allow them to further developed their oral communication skills.
Will have developed broader inter-cultural understanding of ethics through the study of ethical philosophy and criticism.
Will have consciouslesly reflected on absorbing feedback through peer-review assignments.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar Research
Assessment method
Assessment
A mid-term academic poster assignment (30% of final grade); this assignment also involves a peer-review exercise.
A research-essay proposal (not graded, but feedback given by the tutor).
An MLA style Research Essay (70% of final grade)
THE DIFFERENT MA PROGRAMMES:Students taking this course as part of the “ICLON Tweejarige Educatieve Master” are invited to write their research essay on a topic that eventually could be suitable for a secondary-school teaching context. They are asked to to reflect on this possibility in a final paragraph of the essay after the formal conclusion.
Students taking this course as part of the “Research Masters” are expected to develop a more thorough theoretical framework/critical methodology without losing sight of the close-reading of primary texts analysed.
Students taking this course as part of the “Literature in Society Track” should develop an essay topic with an overt social theme.
Students taking this course as part of the French, German or Italian track, or as part of the MA Dutch Studies can write on French, German, Italian or Dutch works of Gothic, Horror, SF or Noir fiction, but their essay will have to be written in English and foreign-language quotations shouldbe presented in English translation in footnotes to the essay, for clarity’s sake.
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher (rounded to 6).
Resit
Students with a final grade lower than 6 (5 or lower) will have to resit the insufficient parts of the coursework.
Inspection and feedback
Written feedback will be provided to both assignments. Students should scrutinize this feedback and sohow they have absorbed the relevant parts in their final essay. Students can contact the tutor to discuss all feedback.
Reading list
A selection of primary e-texts and open access films in the Gothic, Horror, SF and Noir genres (by J.G. Ballard, Shirley Jackson, Charles Dickens and others).
A selection of secondary e-texts on ethical theory from different fields of study.
Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere (Headline)
Dorothy B. Hughes, In a Lonely Place (Penguin)
Stephen King, The Green Mile (Orion)
Ursula Le Guin, The Eye of the Heron (Tor Books)
Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress (Washington Square Press)
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic (SF Masterworks)
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal.
Remarks
N.A.