Studies in Literature and Film (386-0-20)

Topic

Victorian Monsters on Page and Screen (Post 1830)

Instructors

Smith William Yarberry

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-420: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

From vampires and goblins to sea serpents and reanimated corpses, the monsters that stalked the pages of Victorian literature continue to haunt our screens today. What do these monsters reveal about the subconscious fears and forbidden desires embedded in Victorian culture? Does Frankenstein's monster offer commentary on colonial rebellion? How might stories depicting supernatural sea monsters reflect both fear and fascination with new developments in the natural sciences? And how does Dracula's bloodlust reflect anxieties about queer sexuality? In this course we'll examine how writers used otherworldly tales and monstrous creations to grapple with the industrial, scientific, and colonial revolutions sweeping the British Empire. Throughout the course, we will turn to these same monsters' contemporary reincarnations to consider what their persistence into twenty-first century media has to say about our culture today. What shifting concerns about gender, sexuality, class, and race explain these monsters' enduring appeal - or altered appearances? Along the way, we'll think about adaptation, genre, and why these nineteenth-century figures remain the blueprint for many of today's blockbusters.

Teaching Method

Lecture and discussion.

Evaluation Method

In a creative midterm assignment, students will design their own monsters, producing both a visual representation and a critical essay explaining its theoretical underpinnings and its engagement with a particular historical context.

Class Materials (Required)

Frankenstein (1818), "The Vampyre" (1819), "The Kraken" (1830), "Goblin Market" (1862), and Dracula (1897). Modern reworkings of these monsters may include Lisa Frankenstein (2024), The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), Sinners (2025), and/or Frankenstein (2025).

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline