COMM382

“One might say that the true subject of the horror genre is the struggle for recognition of all that our society represses or oppresses: it’s reemergence dramatized, as in our nightmares, as an object of horror, a matter for terror,” Robin Wood, 1979. This course approaches horror programming on television from a literary perspective, treating the programming as analogous to literary text. What themes are the creators addressing? What do they tell us about contemporary society? What is the political, social, or cultural subtext? What do they tell us about racial and gender relations? What is the role between the archetypal “monster” in horror and marginalized populations in society? Why approach these issues allegorically rather than straight on? This is really just the tip of the iceberg -- there are countless substantive, intellectually stimulating questions that can be addressed through the lens of horror, which has the added benefit of being a particularly popular and inviting genre for college-age students.