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 - 2020
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 email
Thank you so much for the resources, I'll be sure to give them a read through. It will certainly help me to start the assessment.
The unit coordinator will continue to provide high quality, topical, and relevant resources for students to access in the preparation of assessment items.
- 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
(2014)
Authors: Botting, F.
Routledge
London London , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9780415831727
Binding: Paperback
Handbook of Gothic literature
(1998)
Authors: Mulvey, L.
Palgrave Macmillan
Houndsville, Basingstoke Houndsville, Basingstoke , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9780333670699
Binding: Paperback
Perfume: the story of a murder
(2010)
Authors: Süskind, P.
Penguin
London London , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9780141041155
Binding: Paperback
The white hotel
(1999)
Authors: Thomas, D. M.
Orion Publishing Co.
London London , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9780753809259
Binding: Paperback
Zombie
(2009)
Authors: Oates, Joyce. C
Ecco Press/Harper Collins
New York New York , United States
ISBN: 9780061778919
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
Prescribed Texts:
The 6 novels listed below will be studied up until to Week 7 with free online access provided on the unit Moodle site:
Horace Walpole's The castle of Otranto (1764) (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/walpole/horace/otranto/complete.html)
William Beckford's The history of the Caliph Vathek (1786) (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/beckford/william/vathek/complete.html)
Matthew Lewis's The monk (1795) (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/lewis/matthew/monk/complete.html)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) (see: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/stoker/bram/s87d/complete.html)
The following 3 novels listed for purchase above will be studied from Weeks 8-10.
D. M. Thomas's The White Hotel (1981).
Patrick Süskind's Perfume: The Story of a Murder (2010)
Joyce Carol Oates' Zombie (1996)
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.
l.dodd@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
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Short Paper: 1500 -1800 words
Marks: 25
Using the essay structure provided in the Assessment 1 task description, write a short paper on one (1) of the following topics:
1. In Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764), Ellis argues ‘women bring to an end the usurped control of the castle. And by doing so, they gain a degree of power and control that the prevailing social order could not otherwise permit’ (2010, p. 8). Discuss with reference to woman and boundaries in the narrative.
2. Botting suggests ‘while terror and horror are often used synonymously, distinctions can be made between them as countervailing aspects of Gothic’s emotional ambivalence’ (1990, p. 10). What unique distinctions between 'terror' and 'horror' emerge in Beckford’s portrayal of Vathek’s decline in Vathek (1786) and for what purposes?
3. As Ambrosio spirals into hell in The Monk (1796), readers encounter an array of superstitious and supernatural characters. How does Lewis use these characters to explore Ambrosio’s transgressions and their moral and religious consequences?
4. Students may consult with the lecturer to create your own short paper topic on any of the above texts.
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 (10 Aug 2020) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 7 Monday (31 Aug 2020)
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)?
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
- 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.
2 Written Assessment
Research Paper: 1500 - 1800 words
Marks: 25
Using the structure provided in the Assessment 2 task description, prepare a formal research paper on one (1) of the following topics:
Note: Some films are available in the CQU library (check the unit eReading List) or may be found on popular streaming services.
1. Schneider (2015) claims that in Shelley’s Frankenstein, ‘Both the creature and Victor himself can be seen as monsters. Both cross socially established boundaries, albeit mostly different ones.’ Analyse how the construction of the monstrous/monstrosity may affect the reading of Victor Frankenstein and the monster he created using the text and at least one film version of the novel as a reference.
2. Brignell (2012) states ‘The constant emphasis on landscape within the text of Wuthering Heights endows the setting with symbolic importance’. Discuss symbolism and the psychological nature of Gothic settings with reference to the novel Wuthering Heights (1939) and at least one other gothic text of your choice (you may choose novel/s or film/s).
3. William Hughes (1988) argues that the figure of the vampire has been eroticised and that this characterisation has been at the expense of 'the literary vampire.' With reference to Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), explore the concept of 'the literary vampire' then examine, using two film or television versions of vampires as reference, how the popular eroticisation of the vampire seems to dominate any other signification of the trope.
4. Freud (1905) writes ‘The History of civilization shows beyond any doubt ... An intimate connection between cruelty and the sexual instinct’. The White Hotel (1981) identifies a number of means or stories by which individuals operate in complicity with structures of iniquity and oppression. Consider the role that sexuality plays in this complicity with cultural iniquity in the novel The White Hotel and at least other gothic text (you may choose novel/s or film/s).
5. Students may consult with the lecturer to create your own research essay topic on any of the above texts.
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 Friday (18 Sept 2020) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 11 Friday (2 Oct 2020)
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)?
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
- 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.
3 Written Assessment
Analytical Paper - 2000-2500 words
Marks: 50
Using the structure provided in the Assessment 3 task description, write an analytical essay on one (1) of the following topics:
Note: You cannot use set texts or films already used in a previous assessment item.
1. Bond (BBC 2016) observes ‘interest in morbid crime, and particularly in serial killers, has become pervasive in popular culture’, with a recent explosion of true crime stories, documentaries and podcasts. Analyse this trend with reference to one of these ‘news’ reports and one form of either Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates OR Perfume by Patrick Süskind (eg. the text, the 2008 play Zombie (see Week 10 Moodle link), the 2006 film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, or the 2018 Netflix series Perfume based on Süskind’s novel). What aspects of the Gothic are appropriated in these cultural forms in their construction of the serial killer and how does this drive reader/viewer fascination?
2. Gothic literature and ‘horror’ films have always been popular as they provoke thrill and fear at the same time by focusing on the uncertainties and contradictions of the psyche. Select any one of the set Gothic texts and compare/contrast it with a film version of the same text. Identify and analyse differences of emphasis on fear. What aspects of fear (eg. anxiety, terror, horror, disgust, etc) emerge most predominantly in each text and for what purpose? How does this change the psychological reception of the story?
3. Botting (2013) argues that the Gothic ‘juxtaposes terrors of the negative with an order authorised by reason and morality’. Analyse this statement with reference to two of the unit's set texts, or, one set text and a film version of a set text, to compare/contrast the operation of negative aesthetics versus reason and morality. How do these texts exhibit and emphasise these concepts? Does your analysis support Botting’s statement?
4. Write a short story in the Gothic genre (refer to the Tip Sheet on Moodle) 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.
5. Students may consult with the lecturer to create their own analytical topic for any of the texts studied during the term.
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 (8 Oct 2020) 11:59 pm AEST
Exam Week Thursday (22 Oct 2020)
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)?
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
- 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.
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.