ENCW 207 - Mapping the Monstrous: Deviant Forms and Bodies in Literature

CR: 3
Why are we so fascinated by what repels us? This course will explore literary representations of monstrosity - both physical and psychological - and the ways such literature functions in relationship to its broader socio-cultural moment. We will read widely to understand how monsters are represented in literature; we will analyze how the monstrous body becomes both screen and metaphor for broader cultural fears of the other; and we will explore the role of the literary monster in constructing its own text through stitching, layering, and methods of literary productivity and procreation. Along the way, students will construct their own monstrous texts and analytical essays. III.W, V.2, V.6b