Overview
In this unit students will explore the gothic mode in both contemporary culture as well as in the historical sense. Through study of a range of films, literature, artforms, media and journalism as well as critical commentary, students will be given an opportunity to discuss and debate important issues of sexual identity, the relation between nature and culture, and popular pleasure through transgressive style.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: Minimum of 18 credit points
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2019
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student feedback
There is A LOT of reading in this unit. I think it would be better if the study guide was also recorded as a weekly lecture.
Record video lectures to accompany weekly PowerPoint presentations that are provided in the unit to deliver study content to cater to different learning styles, and reduce reading burden.
Feedback from Self-evaluation
Students reported the extensive reading list (including 9 novels) was difficult to manage over the term. MAV data indicates that the full reading load was not achieved by any of the students in the term. Many students only engaged with the weekly unit chosen for their assessment item.
Recommend providing novel excerpts/readings relevant to the weekly topics from all 9 novels to encourage engagement with the material for each week, then offering the choice to read 3 of the novels in full for the 3 assessment tasks.
Feedback from Student feedback
The coordinator answered questions and queries promptly, and all assessments and marks were returned in a fast manner. The feedback and comments given on the assessments were relevant and helpful in terms of completing other assessments throughout the term.
Continue to provide timely formative feedback to students.
Feedback from Student Evaluation
I enjoyed the flexibility in the assessment choices. I think it really helps you to develop your interests and engage in some deeper study in certain areas. Overall an enjoyable course.
Continue to offer flexibility in choices for assessment topics.
- Discuss the Western Gothic as it has manifested itself across a range of cultural texts including film and literature from its inception in the eighteenth century up to the present.
- Discuss the Gothic's transgressive mode, particularly the way in which this problematises questions of gender and sexuality.
- Demonstrate further development of your analytical and written communication skills.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 25% | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 25% | |||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Gothic: the new critical idiom
Edition: any (2014)
Authors: Botting, F.
Routledge
London London , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9780415831727
Binding: Paperback
Handbook of Gothic literature
Edition: any (1998)
Authors: Mulvey, L.
Palgrave Macmillan
Houndsmill, Basingstoke Houndsmill, Basingstoke , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9780333670699
Binding: Paperback
Perfume: the story of a murder
Edition: any (2010)
Authors: Süskind, P.
Penguin
London London , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9780141041155
Binding: Paperback
The white hotel
Edition: any (1999)
Authors: Thomas, D. M.
Orion Publishing Co.
London London , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9780753809259
Binding: Paperback
Zombie
Edition: Ecco reprint (2009)
Authors: Oates, Joyce. C
Ecco Press/Harper Collins
New York New York , United States
ISBN: 9780061778919
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
Prescribed Texts:
A complete version of Horace Walpole's novel The castle of Otranto (1764) is provided on the unit moodle site via e.books.adelaide.edu.au (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/walpole/horace/otranto/complete.html)
A complete version of William Beckford's novel The history of the Caliph Vathek (1786) is provided on the unit moodle site via e.books.adelaide.edu.au (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/beckford/william/vathek/complete.html)
A complete version of Matthew Lewis's novel The monk (1795) is provided on the unit moodle site via e.books.adelaide.edu.au (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/lewis/matthew/monk/complete.html) A complete version of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) is provided on the unit moodle site via e.books.adelaide.edu.au (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/shelley/mary/s53f/complete.html)A complete version of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights (1847) is provided on the unit moodle site via e.books.adelaide.edu.au (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/bronte/emily/b869w/complete.html)
A complete version of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula (1897) is provided on the unit moodle site via e.books.adelaide.edu.au (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/stoker/bram/s87d/complete.html)
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom account (Free)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
n.anae@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction: Explorations in the Gothic.
In this unit you will examine the essential Gothic themes of horror, death and romance and explore some of the major issues raised by the genre across a number of literary and filmic texts.
Chapter
Botting:
- Chapter 1: Introduction
Mulvey-Roberts:
- Introduction
Events and Submissions/Topic
Botting, Fred 2014, Gothic (The new critical idiom), Routledge.
Mulvey-Roberts, Marie 1998, The Handbook to Gothic Literature, Routledge.
Module/Topic
The Castle of Otranto (1764), Horace Walpole
The earliest accepted Gothic novel, Walpole, a British Earl, was among the very first to incorporate the iconography of Romance woven into a story of horror, tragedy and romantic love.
Chapter
Botting:
- Chapter 2: Gothic origins
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'Walpole, Horace'
- 'Death'
Events and Submissions/Topic
A voluntary Zoom session will be scheduled before the due date for Assessment Item 1. Please check the Moodle unit site (see 'Assessment' block) for details.
This session will be recorded and available for download soon thereafter.
If you have questions about the assessment item, but cannot attend the Zoom session, please post your questions on the Assessment 1 Discussion Forum.
Module/Topic
Vathek (1786), William Beckford
Originally written in French, the narrative tells an elegantly-crafted story of sensuality, pride and violence when the ill-fated Caliph Vathek of Baghdad makes a pact with the Devil.
Chapter
Botting:
- Chapter 3: Gothic forms
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'Beckford, William'
- 'Horror'
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Monk (1796), Matthew Lewis
A story of scandalous, erotic obsession and the corruption of power. This novel was roundly condemned as blasphemous and depraved upon its original and anonymous publication.
Chapter
Botting:
- Chapter 4: Gothic writing in the 1790s
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'Lewis, Matthew'
- 'Occultism'
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Frankenstein (1818), Mary Shelley
The story of the Modern Prometheus is a tragedy to rival Shakespeare's best. Set during a period of great social change, the narrative follows the rise of scientific hubris and a tragic descent into madness and oblivion.
Chapter
Botting:
- Chapter 5: Romantic transformations
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'Shelley, Mary'
- 'Romanticism'
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Wuthering Heights (1874), Emily Bronte
Published the year before Bronte's death, initial reviews for the novel were divided. Not only were its depictions of mental and physical cruelty bleak and confronting, but it openly challenged the social mores of the day.
Chapter
Botting:
- Chapter 6: Homely gothic
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'Brontë, Emily'
- 'The Brontës'
Events and Submissions/Topic
A voluntary Zoom session will be scheduled before the due date for Assessment Item 2. Please check the Moodle unit site (see 'Assessment' block) for details.
This session will be recorded and available for download soon thereafter.
If you have questions about the assessment item, but cannot attend the Zoom session, please post your questions on the Assessment 2 Discussion Forum.
Module/Topic
Dracula (1897), Bram Stoker
Stoker was not the inventor of the vampyre, but he was the first to bring the notion of the undead into modern fictional narratives. A classic novel of the Gothic genre.
Chapter
Botting:
- Chapter 7: Gothic returns in the 1890s
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'Stoker, Bram'
- 'Female gothic'
- 'Vampire'
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The White Hotel (1981), D.M. Thomas
Three narratives or movements examining the erotic fantasies of Lisa Erdman, an opera singer. The narratives overlap to form a chilling and horrific witnessing of the Holocaust in WWII. Short-listed for the Booker Prize.
Chapter
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'The sublime'
- 'The supernatural'
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Perfume (1985), Patrick Suskind
Originally published in German, this episodic narrative of the main character examines how the sense of smell can be taken to extremes, as well as the extremes of murder and moral antipathy that such divergence from a perceived 'normal' may cause.
Chapter
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'German gothic'
- 'Terror'
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Zombie (1995), Joyce Carol Oates
This text looks at the extreme and the gruesome in modern America, offering a diaristic experience of a young serial killer determined to acquire a zombie.
Chapter
Botting:
- Chapter 8: Phamtomodernisms
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'Gothic body'
- 'The grotesque'
Events and Submissions/Topic
A voluntary Zoom session will be scheduled before the due date for Assessment Item 3. Please check the Moodle unit site (see 'Assessment' block) for details.
This session will be recorded and available for download soon thereafter.
If you have questions about the assessment item, but cannot attend the Zoom session, please post your questions on the Assessment 3 Discussion Forum.
Module/Topic
The Unholy (1998) and The Club (1993)
The Gothic edifices in The Club and The Unholy serve as both a setting and a symbolic signifier. Labyrinths, dungeons, burial vaults and confined spaces illustrate the realm of the unconscious.
Chapter
Botting:
- Chapter 9: Consuming monsters
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'Monstrosity'
- 'Gothic film'
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Night Train to Venice (1993)
Intrigue, darkness and sexual repression follow the central character in this film where iconic images of the Gothic abound, as do the Jungian archetypes of good and evil.
Chapter
Mulvey-Roberts:
- 'Gothic drama'
- 'The uncanny [Unheimlich]
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Short Paper: 1500 -1800 words
Marks: 25
Using the structure provided on the unit website (see Week 4 Topic Section), write a short paper on one (1) of the following topics:
1. How does The castle of Otranto construct the role of women?
or
2. To what extent can the forces of 'darkness' be said to defeat /undo the traditional moral framework at the end of Vathek?
or
3. To what extent does the Christian moral framework ultimately hold in The monk?
or
4. Students may opt to create their own essay topic on any of the above texts subject to the lecturer's approval.
Note: The specified word limit for this item (1500 - 1800 words). The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.
Week 5 Monday (12 Aug 2019) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 7 Monday (2 Sept 2019)
The following assessment criteria will be used for this assessment task:
- Does your short paper have a clearly articulated thesis (point of view) that can be considered as an answer to the question and the specific issue/s related to the chosen novel and its critical and theoretical location/s regards the gothic that the question raises?
- Have key terms been clearly defined in a scholarly manner and is the central thesis of the short paper supported with clear arguments supported by relevant evidence from the text(s)?
- Has secondary criticism (at least 3 credible, scholarly sources) been used to support the arguments and does the essay show an understanding of the relevant critical theory regards the gothic that is being called upon?
- Has care been taken with presentation, grammar, expression and spelling (i.e., has the essay been carefully edited)?
- Have all sources been properly acknowledged both in-text and in the reference list using the Harvard Author-date system (i.e., ideas, paraphrases as well as quotations)?
- Discuss the Western Gothic as it has manifested itself across a range of cultural texts including film and literature from its inception in the eighteenth century up to the present.
- Discuss the Gothic's transgressive mode, particularly the way in which this problematises questions of gender and sexuality.
- Demonstrate further development of your analytical and written communication skills.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Written Assessment
Research Paper: 1500 -1800 words
Marks: 25
Using the structure provided on the unit website (see Week 7 Topic Section), prepare a formal research paper on one (1) of the following topics:
- To what extent does Frankenstein concern itself with the question of the creator’s responsibility to what it has created and in this regard how does the novel compare with the genesis creation story?
- How far does Wuthering Heights concern itself with sexual desires which lie outside of traditional social and moral prescriptions?
- How far does Bram Stoker's Dracula position women as mediums through which the male characters are able to establish/ maintain homoerotic links?
- Research a news report (in any media) on a modern 'vampire murder". How does your chosen report draw on the characteristics of the vampire from Bram Stoker's original Dracula and to what ends
- How does Thomas use the gothic in The white hotel to engage with Freudian constructions of sexuality?
- Students may opt to create their own seminar topic on any of the above texts subject to the lecturer's approval.
Note: The specified word limit for this item (1500 - 1800 words). The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.
Week 9 Wednesday (18 Sept 2019) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 11 Wednesday (2 Oct 2019)
The following assessment criteria will be used for this assessment task:
- Does your essay have a clearly articulated thesis (point of view) that can be considered as a research topic critically examining the specific concern relating to the chosen novel/author/text and its critical and theoretical location/s regards the Gothic that the question/s raised?
- Have key terms been clearly defined in a scholarly manner and is the central thesis of the research paper supported with clear arguments supported by relevant evidence from the text(s)?
- Has secondary criticism (at least 4 credible, scholarly sources) been used to support the arguments and does the research paper show an understanding of the relevant critical theory regards the Gothic that is being called upon?
- Has care been taken with presentation, grammar, expression and spelling (i.e., has the essay been carefully edited)?
- Have all sources been properly acknowledged both in-text and in the reference list using the Harvard Author-date system (i.e., ideas, paraphrases as well as quotations)?
- Discuss the Western Gothic as it has manifested itself across a range of cultural texts including film and literature from its inception in the eighteenth century up to the present.
- Discuss the Gothic's transgressive mode, particularly the way in which this problematises questions of gender and sexuality.
- Demonstrate further development of your analytical and written communication skills.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Written Assessment
Analytical Essay - 2000-2500 words - 50 marks
Using the structure provided on the unit website (see Week 10 Topic Section), write an analytical essay on one (1) of the following topics:
- How does Suskind use the gothic in Perfume to interrogate the ways in which desire is socially controlled/regulated?
- What attitude/s to homosexuality does Oates display through her use of the gothic in Zombie?
- Choose a news report (in any media) on a contemporary serial killer. What aspects of the Gothic does your chosen report use in its construction of this serial killer?
- Choose a movie from any era (for instance The exorcist, The omen, Legion) which focuses on the intrusion of the satanic into the human realm. What aspects of the gothic does your chosen movie employ and for what purposes?
- Choose any contemporary slasher movie which relies on the Gothic. What particular elements of the Gothic are deployed in your chosen movie?
- Write a short story in the Gothic genre and accompany it with a brief justification essay of the specific literary elements and techniques of the Gothic your story incorporates (e.g., themes, tone, characterisation, rising action, suspense, setting, point of view, figurative language, foreshadowing, simile, metaphor, metonym, etc.). If you choose this option, your story should be approximately 1800 words and your justification essay (supported with at least six [6] peer-reviewed, scholarly sources) in the region of 700 words. Please see the Week 10 Topic Section for a Tip Sheet.
- Students may opt to create their own topic on any of the texts studied between Week 9 - Week 12 subject to the lecturer's approval.
Note: The specified word limit for this item (2000 - 2500 words). The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.
Week 12 Thursday (10 Oct 2019) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Thursday (24 Oct 2019)
The following assessment criteria will be used for this assessment task:
- Does your essay have a clearly articulated thesis (point of view) that can be considered as a research topic critically examining the specific concern relating to the chosen novel/author/text and its critical and theoretical location/s regards the gothic that the question/s raised?
- Have key terms been clearly defined in a scholarly manner and is the central thesis of the research paper supported with clear arguments supported by relevant evidence from the text(s)?
- Has secondary criticism (at least 6 credible scholarly sources) been used to support the arguments and does the research paper show an understanding of the relevant critical theory regards the gothic that is being called upon?
- Has care been taken with presentation, grammar, expression and spelling (i.e., has the essay been carefully edited)?
- Have all sources been properly acknowledged both in-text and in the reference list using the Harvard Author-date system (i.e., ideas, paraphrases as well as quotations)?
- Discuss the Western Gothic as it has manifested itself across a range of cultural texts including film and literature from its inception in the eighteenth century up to the present.
- Discuss the Gothic's transgressive mode, particularly the way in which this problematises questions of gender and sexuality.
- Demonstrate further development of your analytical and written communication skills.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
