![]() Horace Walpole published The Castle of Otranto and he is the first one to call a story, a 'gothic' story.” At the time, the term “gothic” was synonymous with “medieval” and it was almost always used as an insult, explains Lynch. “The ‘Gothic Ages’ were backwards, and superstitious, and it was an age of darkness and ignorance, and barbarity.” “We very rarely can date the beginning of a genre precisely, but with gothic fiction, we can identify the day,” said Lynch. Gothic horror is unique in that it can be traced back directly to one story. In his course, Lynch looks at the tradition of horror and terror literature from the very first gothic novel up to Jordan Peele’s 2017 horror film Get Out, which he’s using to look at issues of race and modern society. The class will also discuss how contemporary goth culture and music draw from the genre. “I was looking for something that would go over well with non-majors,” said Lynch. “I wanted a course that would draw an audience that doesn’t necessarily view itself as literary, but would give them plenty of stuff to chew on intellectually.” ![]() Lynch has taught a version of this class for years, but recently revamped it to be part of the Core Curriculum, which means students of any major can use the class to fulfill their History and Literature requirement. When asked whether there has to be a monster present for a story to be considered “gothic”, Lynch, who is a professor and Chair of the English Department, says the answer is no, “but there has to be a suggestion of monstrosity. There has to be some fear that we’re venturing into the supernatural, the unexplained.” Sometimes the monster is real, and sometimes it’s within. Students taking Jack Lynch’s course in "The Gothic” this semester will use horror to examine the relationship of literature to history and society, and learn literary analysis techniques while exploring the idea of monsters and monstrosity - and getting a good scare from the safety of their own homes. ![]()
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