The Scottish Gothic: fantastic and supernatural ADED11980E

  • Academic Session: 2024-25
  • School: Short Courses
  • Credits: 10
  • Level: Level 1 (SCQF level 7)
  • Typically Offered: Summer
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No

Short Description

This course introduces students to five key Scottish ghost-fiction writers and their most memorable fantastic fictions: James Hogg, J.M. Barrie, Margaret Oliphant, Robert Louis Stevenson, and George MacDonald. It invites students to think about the role that the supernatural continues to play in Scottish writing through exploration of its representation in Romantic and Victorian fiction. Through closely analysing excerpts from these writers and discussing the various wider cultural, social and political anxieties and fears that can be expressed via the supernatural, students will explore the historical context and literary impact of the Scottish Gothic.

Timetable

Block 1, Weeks 1-10

2 hours per week for 10 weeks

Saturday, 11:00-13:00

Requirements of Entry

None

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Close reading exercise (750 words) analysing a short extract from one of the key writers on the course to identify the literary devices and techniques at work in creating supernatural, fantastical or gothic effects (25%)

 

Essay (1,500 words) comparing two texts from the course to demonstrate how their wider literary and historical contexts may inform their representation of the supernatural, fantastical or gothic, and the role each writer played in establishing a distinct Scottish Gothic literary mode (75%).

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ Introduce students to five key Scottish ghost-fiction writers and their notable texts (namely James Hogg, J.M. Barrie, Margaret Oliphant, Robert Louis Stevenson, and George MacDonald) and explain their role in establishing a Scottish Gothic literary mode.

■ Offer students the chance to engage in close textual analysis of extracts from these writers to discuss the literary techniques and devices used in their work to create gothic effects.

■ Provide students with a broader historical context for these texts and invite students to discuss the cultural, social and political anxieties and fears that could be expressed in their representation of the supernatural, fantastic and gothic.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Recognise the significance of the key Scottish ghost-fiction writers and their notable texts on this course (namely James Hogg, J.M. Barrie, Margaret Oliphant, Robert Louis Stevenson, and George MacDonald) and identify their role in establishing a distinct Scottish Gothic literary mode.

■ Analyse notable extracts of Scottish ghost or fantastical fiction on this course and recognise the literary techniques and devices at work creating gothic effects

■ Demonstrate an understanding of the broader historical context for these works and explain how specific cultural, social and political anxieties and fears could be expressed in specific representations of the supernatural, fantastic and gothic.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.