Weird Fiction: Gothic, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror

Something is there that should not be. It is beautiful, new, and it inspires feelings of cold, unearthly fear. If you've encountered anything like this, then you've encountered The Weird: the slimy vertiginous world of H.P. Lovecraft, the cultists of True Detective, the alien from Nope, and more. In this course you will study this genre from its emergence in Gothic short fiction through its pulp magazine heyday up to contemporary fiction and film, tracking its motifs, themes, style, and form over time. Weird fiction is a site for thinking through scientific progress, social change, and difference. We live in a weird world thats only getting weirder; let this course be your shiftingmap to the shifting territory.