2017-2018 Academic Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 2420 - Modern Monsters: The Serial Killer in Literature and Film


The genre of serial killer fiction is a direct descendent of Gothic fiction, with the serial killers as updated models of Gothic villains. Like their Gothic predecessors, fictional serial killers are mythologized, folklorized and, in some cases, supernaturalized. Beginning with Psycho, students will critically analyze serial killer fiction novels and films of the mid-20th century to the present while investigating the following themes: American notions and expressions of individuality; the sociopolitical climate in which the serial killer is defined and the ways in which the narratives criticize this climate; changing notions of gender roles and anxieties therein; sexual anxieties; the expressions of cultural desires; and how myth informs the serial killer narratives. Prerequisite: VE fulfilled.

Prerequisites: VE Placement or IDND 018

Program of Liberal Studies (PLS) Designation: VE (Summer only)

Anticipated Terms Offered: Varied