BA Seminar                                                                                                                 סמינר בי.איי

Prof. Elana Gomel                    egomel@post.tau.ac.il                                         פרופ' אילנה גומל        

 

In this seminar we will discuss the literary and cultural role of the monster in the light of narrative theory, especially in relation to the so-called unnatural narratology. We will consider what role different types of the monster have played in articulating the cultural fears and anxieties of various historical periods, and what narrative means have been deployed to represent impossible or non-existent bodies and minds. The seminar will focus on the cultural and narrative evolution of several representative monster-icons, such as the zombie, the vampire, and the alien. We will discuss theoretical texts by Franco Moretti, Judith Halberstram, Monika Fludernik and others, along with novels and films, including (but not limited to) Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Max Brooks’ World War Z, Jack Finney’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and other.

A detailed syllabus will be posted before the beginning of the semester.

Requirements: class participation a midterm paper, class presentation and a final paper.