Folk Horror and the Rural Weird - Einzelansicht

Folk horror speaks of old legends, of religious mania, of terrible traditions, and of vengeful nature. While the modern guise of this genre dates back to the nineteenth century, its concerns are as ancient as they are topical. Indeed, folk horror, which can be said to constitute a millennia-old tradition of storytelling, is currently enjoying a renaissance in anglophone literature. In this class, we will read some of its recent instantiations. Discussion topics include tradition and reproduction, gender, nature, ritual, history, and labour, among others.

Please note that this course takes place synchronously. We will meet online Fridays 2-4 PM via Discord, an easy-to-use and free-of-charge software which, unlike Zoom, respects your privacy. We will use its voice chat function to discuss the reading questions I post before each session. Also, announcements will be communicated to you via Discord. In conjunction with Moodle, the latter will be indispensable to our seminar. So, if you are disinclined to use that software, I am afraid there is no point in joining this class.

Please purchase:

David T. Neal and Christine M. Scott, eds., The Fiends and the Furrows: An Anthology of Folk Horror. Chicago and Pittsburgh: Nosetouch Press, 2018.

Adam L.G. Nevill, The Reddening. Devon: Ritual Limited, 2019.

Other texts will be made available via Moodle.