English 346 - Irish Gothic

This advanced seminar will study the gothic as a genre and as a malleable yet persistent discursive site in Irish literary and political tradition. From the eighteenth century to the present, the gothic has been used to explore aspects of Irish history, in particular colonialism. The course will focus on texts that engage with three primary problems that the Irish gothic is used to explore: violence and terror, famine, and vampirism as a political metaphor. We will read novels, short fiction, poetry, and archival newspaper writing, including work by Maturin, Edgeworth, Lady Wilde, Mangan, LeFanu, Stoker, Joyce, Bowen, Enright, Deane, Boland, and Heaney.

Prereq: 8 credits in English.